Icahn Makes Big Bet On Uber Rival Lyft

(RTTNews) - Ride-sharing service provider Lyft Inc on Friday said it has raised $150-million, led by a $100-million investment from Carl Icahn's Icahn Enterprises LP.

One of Icahn Enterprises' managing directors is expected to join Lyft's board.

"We are very happy to be investing in Lyft. I believe that ridesharing is poised to become a fundamental component of our transportation infrastructure," Icahn said.

Lyft earlier raised $530 million, led by Japanese online retailer Rakuten Inc, after which it was valued at about $2.5-billion.

Lyft was appreciative of Icahn's investment in the company. The activist investor's betting on the start-up is in contrast to the strident stand Icahn takes against companies' management after having acquired a stake in them.

Icahn was reported to have said that investing in San Francisco-based Lyft is a good deal when compared with larger rival Uber Technologies Inc, which was recently valued at about $41 billion.

Lyft has raised a total of more than $1 billion, while Uber has raised more than $5 billion.

Icahn joins a long list of investors in Lyft, including Andreessen Horowitz, and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.