Uber Technologies Inc is set to announce a US$3.1 billion cash-and-share deal to acquire its Dubai-based rival Careem Networks FZ as early as this week, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The US ride-hailing giant would pay US$1.4 billion in cash and US$1.7 billion in convertible notes for Careem, the people said on condition of anonymity.
The notes would be convertible into Uber shares at a price equal to US$55 per share, a term-sheet showed.
Shareholders in Careem, whose backers include Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s investment firm and Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten Inc, have been asked to agree to the terms of the transaction by Monday evening, the people said, adding that a deal could be announced as soon as today.
Uber spokesman Matt Kallman declined to comment, while a spokesman for Careem was not immediately able to comment.
Uber’s acquisition of Careem would come ahead of its imminent initial public offering (IPO), which could be one of the New York Stock Exchange’s biggest-ever listings.
Uber is expected to publicly file for an IPO next month, which could value the company at as much as US$120 billion, people familiar with the plans have said previously.
Careem was valued at about US$1 billion in a 2016 funding round, making it one of the most valuable technology start-ups in the Middle East. The company has more than 1 million drivers and operates in more than 90 cities in 15 countries, its Web site says.
For Uber, a deal would signal its commitment to the Middle East, where one of its biggest investors — a Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund — is based.
The acquisition would also be a departure in strategy for Uber, which has in the past used such deals to offload costly overseas operations in exchange for stakes in competitors.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
SEASONAL WEAKNESS: The combined revenue of the top 10 foundries fell 5.4%, but rush orders and China’s subsidies partially offset slowing demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) further solidified its dominance in the global wafer foundry business in the first quarter of this year, remaining far ahead of its closest rival, Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. TSMC posted US$25.52 billion in sales in the January-to-March period, down 5 percent from the previous quarter, but its market share rose from 67.1 percent the previous quarter to 67.6 percent, TrendForce said in a report. While smartphone-related wafer shipments declined in the first quarter due to seasonal factors, solid demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) devices and urgent TV-related orders
Prices of gasoline and diesel products at domestic fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.2 and NT$0.3 per liter respectively, after international crude oil prices increased last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week snapped a two-week losing streak as the geopolitical situation between Russia and Ukraine turned increasingly tense, CPC said in a statement. News that some oil production facilities in Alberta, Canada, were shut down due to wildfires and that US-Iran nuclear talks made no progress also helped push oil prices to a significant weekly gain, Formosa said
MINERAL DIPLOMACY: The Chinese commerce ministry said it approved applications for the export of rare earths in a move that could help ease US-China trade tensions Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) is today to meet a US delegation for talks in the UK, Beijing announced on Saturday amid a fragile truce in the trade dispute between the two powers. He is to visit the UK from yesterday to Friday at the invitation of the British government, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He and US representatives are to cochair the first meeting of the US-China economic and trade consultation mechanism, it said. US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that a new round of trade talks with China would start in London beginning today,
RSS