(Bloomberg) — Didi Global Inc. is considering going private to placate Chinese regulators and compensate investors for losses, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The Beijing-based company has been in discussions with bankers, regulators and key investors about ways to resolve its regulatory woes since its troubled listing, the newspaper said, citing people with knowledge of the matter. One of the options could involve a tender offer for the publicly traded shares, according to the report.
Didi shares have tumbled more than 36% from its offering price, after Beijing announced a probe into the company and removed its services from Chinese app stores. Regulators had suggested that Didi delay its listing in the U.S. or consider alternative locations, though the ride-hailing giant eventually went ahead and debuted in the U.S. on Jun 30, people familiar with the matter have said. Bloomberg News reported last week that Chinese regulators were considering a range of penalties for the company, including forced it to delist.
Read more: China Is Said to Weigh Unprecedented Didi Penalty After IPO
A take-private offer could be funded partly or mostly with money that Didi raised from investors in the IPO, the Journal said. The price that the company would offer to investors has yet to be determined, but it could be around or above the $14-per-share IPO price, according to one of the people in the report.
The Cyberspace Administration of China is supportive of the privatization plan in principle, the Journal cited one of the people as saying. SoftBank Group Corp. is unlikely to help fund a deal, the person said. Representatives of Didi, SoftBank, the CAC and the banks didn’t immediately respond to the Journal’s requests for comment.
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