Uber Aims for $84 Billion Valuation in Year's Largest IPO

Uber is seeking to raise as much as $9 billion in an initial public offering that could give the ride-hailing giant a market valuation of as much as $84 billion, according to Bloomberg.

The No. 1 ride-hailing company plans to offer 180 million shares at $44 to $50 each, according to a regulatory filing. The filing puts Uber on track to make its trading debut in May on the New York Stock Exchange in what is expected to be the year’s biggest U.S. IPO.

At the top of the range the listing would value Uber at almost $84 billion, based on the number of shares outstanding after the offering, as detailed in the filing. On a fully diluted basis, including the addition of stock options, restricted shares or other stakes not included in the outstanding total, the valuation could top $91.5 billion.

PayPal has agreed to buy $500 million of Uber’s stock at the IPO price in a private placement. The investment is part of a deal to extend the payment company’s partnership with Uber. The two companies plan to work together to develop a digital wallet for Uber, a spokesman for PayPal said.

Uber also provided a range for its first-quarter performance in the updated filing. Based on the midpoint of Uber’s projections, the company expects to have a net loss of $1.07 billion on $3.07 billion in revenue in the quarter. Revenue growth slowed to 19 percent compared to the same quarter last year, down from 22 percent growth in the comparable fourth quarter.

At the low end of the range, Uber’s market valuation would be just $74 billion -- below its last private funding round, in which Toyota invested at a valuation of about $76 billion. Uber is taking a conservative approach to its valuation and could later raise the price depending on investor demand, people familiar with the matter have said. Last year, bankers jockeying to lead the offering told Uber it could be valued at as much as $120 billion in an IPO.

In 2018, Uber lost $3.04 billion on an operating basis on revenue of $11.3 billion, bringing total operating losses over the past three years to more than $10 billion, according to earlier filings. The company reported a net income of $997 million for 2018. The profit was mainly driven by Uber’s sale of assets in Southeast Asia and Russia as well as an increase in the estimated value of its stock in Didi Chuxing, China’s largest ride-hailing company, which Uber sold its Chinese business to in 2016.