Didi Said to Be Weighing $6 Billion SoftBank-Backed Funding
- Tencent, Apple considering chipping in to avoid share dilution
- The Chinese ride-sharing leader needs capital for R&D
Didi Chuxing Weighs a $6 Billion Softbank Deal
Chinese ride-sharing giant Didi Chuxing is weighing whether to take a $6 billion investment backed by SoftBank Group Corp. that could dilute existing backers such as Apple Inc., people familiar with the matter say.
If the deal goes through, the funding would be the single largest for a Chinese technology startup on record. But the Beijing-based company that ousted Uber from China now needs to balance the interests of its more than 100 investors, including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and China’s sovereign wealth fund, the people said, asking not to be named because the matter is private. Chinese social media giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Apple are considering if they should join the investment on a pro-rata basis to avoid a dilution of their stakes, the people said. It’s unclear if the money will be coming from the Japanese company itself or its yet-to-close $100 billion SoftBank Vision Fund.