Didi, one of the largest investments in SoftBank Group Corp.’s portfolio, accelerated its listing plans after its business rebounded as the coronavirus pandemic ebbed in China.
Chinese ride-hailing company Didi revealed a $1.6 billion net loss for 2020 as it moves ahead with plans for a U.S. initial public offering. The company in its first public filing for the IPO listed the offering as $100 million, a placeholder that will change when the company discloses terms for the share sale. Didi filed Thursday under the business name Xiaoju Kuaizhi Inc., with Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co. leading the offering. Didi, one of the largest investments in SoftBank Group Corp.’s portfolio, accelerated its listing plans after its business rebounded as the coronavirus pandemic ebbed in China. The company has been considering seeking a valuation of as much as $70 billion to $100 billion in the IPO, Bloomberg News reported in April.
In recent months, Didi has been trading at a valuation of about $95 billion on the secondary market, said people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the information was private. The company last raised funding at a $62 billion value last year, according to PitchBook. A representative for Didi declined to comment on the company’s valuation. SoftBank’s Vision Fund, Uber Technologies Inc. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. are currently among Didi’s biggest shareholders with a combined stake of about 41%, its filing shows. Didi co-founder Will Wei Cheng holds 7% of the shares.
SoftBank’s 21.5% stake could be worth $15 billion or more at the targeted valuation range, although that stake could be diluted in the offering. The Japanese company invested more than $10 billion in Didi, Bloomberg News has reported. While Didi has expanded into 15 countries, most of its revenue still comes from its China mobility business.
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