Didi Global plans to privatize to appease China and compensate investors



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HONG KONG — Ridesharing giant Didi Global Inc. is considering privatizing itself in order to appease Chinese authorities and compensate investors for losses suffered since the company’s listing in the United States at the end of June, according to sources close to the Chinese government. case.

The Beijing-based company has spoken to key bankers, regulators and investors about how it might resolve some of the issues that arose after Didi’s IPO on the New York Stock Exchange on June 30, the sources said. A private purchase agreement that would involve a takeover bid for its listed shares is one of the preliminary options being considered, they added.

Didi raised around $ 4.4 billion on its IPO after selling US custodian shares at $ 14 apiece, the largest sale of shares by a Chinese company since the successful 2014 listing of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

Its shares briefly exceeded $ 18 in their first days of trading, before the Chinese Cyberspace Administration surprised investors and the company on July 2 by launching a data security investigation into Didi and preventing its Chinese company to add new users. Two days later, the cybersecurity regulator asked app store operators to remove the company’s popular Chinese mobile app.

The crackdown worsened on July 9, when 25 other Didi apps, including those used by drivers, were removed from app stores, potentially crippling the company’s operations. China also said in early July that it would tighten the rules for companies selling shares overseas, signaling its dissatisfaction with recent listings by Didi and others.

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