No wonder she said
And when she heard Uber was raising $3.5 billion from the Saudis to help
Holy crap.
From the Wall Street Journal:
Didi Chuxing, China’s Rival to Uber, Scores $7 Billion in New Funding
Ride-sharing company will have more than $10 billion in cash on hand to fend off U.S. competitor
China’s homegrown competitor to Uber Technologies Inc. has raised $7.3 billion in its latest fundraising effort, giving it a host of powerful allies including Apple Inc. to fend off the global ride-hailing champion locally.
Didi Chuxing Technology Co., the country’s biggest ride-sharing company, said Thursday that it closed a $4.5 billion fundraising round that attracted new investors such as Apple, China Life Insurance Co. and the financial affiliate of online shopping firm Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. The round valued the company at nearly $28 billion, people familiar with the matter said.
In addition, Didi said it has secured a $2.5 billion syndicated loan arranged by China Merchants Bank Co. Didi also raised roughly $300 million in debt from China Life, the country’s biggest insurer.
The fundraising will leave Didi flush with cash to help it battle Uber in China’s competitive ride-hailing market. Didi said it now has about $10.5 billion in disposable funds following the new fundraising round through equity and debt.Recently:
Uber and Didi are duking it out for China’s potentially lucrative ride-sharing market by spending huge sums to attract drivers and passengers to their competing services.
The battle between Uber and Didi for global investment allies has only intensified in recent months. Uber raised $3.5 billion from the investment arm of Saudi Arabia earlier this month as part of a financing round totaling more than $5 billion, the largest to date raised by a private, venture-backed company.
Uber is separately turning to the so-called leveraged-loan market for the first time to raise as much as $2 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported this week.
Uber has hired Morgan Stanley and Barclays PLC to sell a leveraged loan of $1 billion to $2 billion to institutional investors in the coming weeks, according to people familiar with the matter.
While Uber’s business in China has expanded rapidly during the past year, the company still faces an uphill battle against Didi, which not only has a larger share of the private car-hailing market where Uber competes, but also dominates the country’s taxi-hailing segment....MORE
Apple Investee Didi Chuxing Receives Another $600 Million, This Time From An Uber Backer
Mo Money: "Uber to Raise Up to $2 Billion in Leveraged-Loan Market"
"Lyft’s $5.5 Billion Plan for World Domination"
"Uber is being mocked by its biggest competitor in China"
Apple Investee Didi Chuxing Says It Is About To Raise More Cash Than Uber's $3.5 Billion Saudi Deal
"Apple invests $1 billion in Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing" (AAPL)
"Uber Turns to Saudi Arabia for $3.5 Billion Cash Infusion"
"Uber's Chinese Rival is Raising Another $1 Billion"
"Uber losing $1 billion a year to compete in China"
Uber To Raise $2 Billion In Round Valuing Company at One Trillion Dollars
