Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi is readying its initial public offering (IPO) in the United States and is targeting a valuation of $62 billion to $67 billion.
The company’s latest public filing reveals that it wants to raise $3.9 billion by selling 288 million American depositary shares priced between $13 and $14 apiece. It will use this money to invest in technology, introduce new products, and grow its business outside of China. Didi plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol DIDI.
Didi is one of the five largest privately held start-ups in the world and is backed by investors including SoftBank, Uber, and Tencent. It was formed in 2012 by Alibaba alumnus Cheng Wei who now owns 7 per cent of its shares and controls 15.4 per cent of its voting power.
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In 2020, Didi reported $21.6 billion in revenue and posted a profit of $6.4 billion in the most recent quarter. It also reported a net income of $837 million and a comprehensive net income of $95 million for the first quarter. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and J.P. Morgan are underwriting the IPO, CNBC reports.
While Didi does not operate its ride-hailing service in the United States, it has over 550 million users throughout Asia and countries including Mexico, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, and Russia. Uber had attempted to snatch away some of Didi’s market share in China when it launched in the country but before long, it called it quits and its Chinese business was bought out by Didi in exchange for Uber getting a 20 per cent stake in the company.
