Uber Technologies Inc on Friday pulled back on its valuation target for its Wall Street debut, while still pricing its share offering in a range that would make it one of the largest in recent years in the technology sector.
The ride-hailing firm said in a securities filing that it would sell 207 million shares in a range of US$44 to US$50, raising up to US$10 billion.
That would give Uber a market value of between US$74 billion and US$84 billion.
However, the pricing target — still subject to change — fell below earlier ambitions of a valuation of more than US$100 billion for the firm, which has operations in about 700 cities around the world.
Uber is to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “UBER” sometime next month.
It also announced a private placement of the tech finance firm PayPal of US$500 million.
In its filing, Uber estimated that it lost US$1.1 billion in the first quarter of this year on revenue of US$3 billion, continuing a trend of steep losses for the San Francisco-based start-up.
Uber has become the largest ride-sharing platform, but has also been expanding into new segments, including food delivery, freight, and “last mile” transport using electric bikes and scooters.
It is investing heavily in autonomous driving technology, in a move that could someday allow the company to offer “robotaxis” without drivers.
The initial public offering document said that Uber aims to disrupt transportation by making it easier for people to move about without private cars.
Uber’s filing said that it had about 3.9 million drivers using its platform at the end of December last year, who have earned a total of US$78.2 billion since 2015 along with US$1.2 billion in tips, which were introduced on the mobile app in 2017.
The filing also said it is offering “driver appreciation” bonuses as part of the move to go public.
US drivers who qualify would get awards ranging from US$100 to US$40,000 depending on the number of trips completed, it said.
About 5.4 million shares, or 3 percent of the total, would be reserved for eligible drivers at the offering price, if they choose to participate, it added.
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