Chinese Ride-Hailing Giant Didi Updates Prospectus to Reveal 4 Billion Dollar Financing Plan
Didi updated its prospectus to SEC in the small hours of June 25th, Beijing time, according to reporting by Tencent News. The new document shows that the ride-hailing firm expects to issue 288 million American depository shares, and plans to raise a total of about 4 billion US dollars, with a maximum of about 4.6 billion dollars.
The Beijing-based company plans to list on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “DIDI”, with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase and Huaxing Capital as its underwriters.
As for the purpose of this fundraising, Didi disclosed in the prospectus that it plans to use about 30% of the capital to expand its business in international markets, while another 30% will be dedicated to improving technical capabilities including travel sharing, electric vehicles and autonomous driving. About 20% will be used to launch new products and ensure the continuous improvement of the user experience. The rest of the financing may be used for standard operating expenses and potential strategic investment.
The prospectus also shows that Cheng Wei, founder and CEO of Didi, Liu Qing, co-founder and President, and Zhu Jingshi, Senior Vice President, together hold 9.8% of the equities. Based on the super voting right ratio of 1:10, the total voting rights of the trio are 52%.
Currently, Didi operates in more than 4,000 cities and towns across 16 countries. The name of Didi’s listed incorporation has also been updated from Xiaoju Kuaizhi to DiDi Global.
In the 12 months ended March 31, 2021, Didi served 493 million annual active users and 15 million annual active drivers worldwide. In the first quarter of 2021, Didi China Travel had 156 million monthly users, with an average daily transaction volume of 25 million rides.
During the same period, Didi’s average global daily transaction volume stood at 41 million orders, while the total transaction volume for the whole platform was 341 billion yuan. During the three years from January 1, 2018 to March 31, 2021, the total income of its the platform’s drivers was about 600 billion yuan.
SEE ALSO: Didi Offers Details of Its Income Structure to End Rumors about Excessive Commission
Founded in 2012, Didi has stepped up to become one of the five largest private start-ups in the world, with SoftBank, Uber and Tencent serving as major investors.
Last week, Reuters reported that China’s market regulator, the State Administration of Market Supervision (SAMR), was investigating whether Didi adopted any unfair practices to crush smaller competitors. The investigation is the latest in a sweeping crackdown on China’s so-called “platform” tech companies, including Alibaba Group and Tencent.
