Uber Technologies Inc.’s recent sale of its China business for $1 billion while acquiring about 20% of rival Didi Chuxing Technology Co. has been widely hailed as a potential step toward an initial public offering. That is true. Uber Chief Executive Travis Kalanick has said the company was losing $1 billion a year in China; eliminating those losses makes an IPO more likely. But...
The recent sale of Uber's China business may clear the way for an initial public offering as the company no longer has to incur the $1bn of losses it was racking up trying to compete with Didi in China. Uber is now valued at $70bn, compared with a market cap of just over $20bn when its Chinese rival launched last year.