Uber chooses conservative IPO launch valuation
Insiders disappointed with the world’s largest ride-hailing company's failure to reach the $120bn they expected
New York — Uber Technologies, the world’s largest ride-hailing company, plans an initial public offering (IPO) that values the company as much as one-third below what the start-up’s insiders had hoped for, between $80.5bn and $91.5bn. The valuation, outlined in a regulatory filing on Friday, is less than the $120bn that investment bankers told Uber in 2018 it could fetch, and closer to the $76 bn valuation it attained in a private fundraising round. The lower valuation reflects the poor stock performance of smaller rival Lyft following its IPO last month. Lyft shares ended trading on Friday down 20.5% from the IPO price, amid investor scepticism over the company’s path to profitability. Lyft completed its IPO at a valuation of $24.3bn, which corresponded to around 11 times its 2018 revenue. By comparison, the top end of Uber’s valuation target is around eight times revenue last year. “We believe that recent price reductions for both Uber and Lyft may be indicative of investor hesi...
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