Uber’s stake in Didi shrank by $2 billion this week amid China crackdown on U.S. listings
Uber’s one-time, $9.4 billion stakes in Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi has dwindled by half in less than a month as China escalates its threats to U.S.-listed companies. More than $2 billion of the drop came this week.
Didi’s American depositary shares, which debuted at $14 apiece in June on the New York Stock Exchange, plunged 21% on Friday to $8.06, after falling 11% a day earlier. They had reached a closing high of $16.40 on July 1, the second day of trading.
Uber owns about 12% of Didi, making it the second-largest investor behind SoftBank. Uber obtained its stake in 2016 after selling its Chinese business to Didi in exchange for equity in its rival.
Didi’s IPO came with a lot of hype and a market cap of close to $70 billion. But the honeymoon was short-lived, as within days of the offering separate reports surfaced that Chinese officials were conducting a cybersecurity review of the company and that Didi had been advised to postpone its listing and review its network security weeks before it went public.
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Didi shares since IPOCNBC
The news worsened this week after Bloomberg reported that Chinese regulators are planning punishments against Didi, including a fine that could exceed the record $2.8 billion Alibaba paid earlier this year after an anti-monopoly investigation. Didi did not respond to requests for comment on the Bloomberg report earlier this week.
Penalties could include delisting or withdrawal of U.S. shares, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Chinese lawmakers have announced plans of late to limit the ability of domestic companies to list overseas.
While Uber is still showing a profit from its initial investment in Didi, valued at about $2 billion five years ago, it’s falling fast. At the end of March, Uber valued the stake at $5.9 billion in its quarterly filing. As of Friday, it’s down to $4.6 billion.
Uber isn’t the only company getting hit by Didi’s drop. SoftBank’s stake has fallen from close to $14 billion after the IPO to under $8 billion. Tencent, the Chinese internet conglomerate, has seen the value of its Didi holdings fall to $2.5 billion from about $4.3 billion.
Uber’s shares have held up this week, rising 2.8% to $47.46.
