China Ride-Hailing Giant Didi in IPO Talks, Likely Beating Uber to Market

China's Didi Chuxing Technology Co. is holding discussions about a multibillion-dollar initial public offering as early as this year, a move that would vault the ride-hailing company into the public markets ahead of American rival Uber Technologies Inc., according to people familiar with the matter. Didi--which operates China's largest ride-sharing platform and is expanding in Latin America and other parts of Asia--is hoping to fetch a valuation of at least $70 billion to $80 billion if it goes public, one of the people added. That would make it one of the largest technology IPOs ever. The Beijing-based company in recent weeks has been in talks with bankers about the feasibility of tapping the public markets for cash in the second half of 2018. The discussions are in early stages, the people familiar with the matter said.