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The
Apple Inc-backed firm is valued at around $25 billion and its
stock market listing would be the most high-profile by a Chinese
company in the United States since Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's <BABA.N>
IPO two years ago.
Didi has ruled out a stock market flotation in China, said the
person, who declined to be identified as the discussions about a
listing were private. There are nearly 800 companies waiting to
get regulatory approval for an IPO in China, making it hard to
predict when a listing might happen.
A Didi spokeswoman in Beijing said the company currently had no
IPO plan.
The company, which dominates the ride-sharing market in China,
was formerly known as Didi Kuaidi and was formed last year from
the merger of two companies backed separately by e-commerce
giant Alibaba and social network firm Tencent Holdings Ltd
<0700.HK>.
Bloomberg earlier reported that Didi was targeting a New York
listing as soon as next year. But the person with knowledge of
the matter told Reuters a 2017 listing would be too early.
Didi is currently seeking to raise $3 billion from investors in
its latest funding round, which includes an investment of $1
billion from Apple <AAPL.O>. It had originally planned to raise
$2 billion, but hiked its target after Apple's investment, the
person added.
Company President Jean Liu met with Apple CEO Tim Cook in
Beijing on Monday.
The company has raised about $6.3 billion including funding
rounds before and after it became a merged company, according to
research firm CB Insights.
Both Didi and Uber's [UBER.UL] Chinese arm have been spending
heavily to subsidize rides and gain market share, increasing the
need for them to seek new funding.
Didi completes more than 11 million rides a day, according to
the company. Apple's Chief Executive Tim Cook said the
investment in Didi would help the U.S. firm better understand
the critical Chinese market.
(Reporting by Elizo Barreto and Sangameswaran S; Editing by Lisa
Jucca and Edwina Gibbs)
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