Uber looking to sell Didi, other non-strategic stakes -CEO says

Dec 14 (Reuters) – The CEO of Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) on Tuesday said the company was looking sell stakes in what it considers non-strategic investments in other companies, including its shares in Chinese ride hailing company Didi Global (DIDI.N).

Speaking at a virtual fireside chat with a UBS analyst, Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi said many of the companies Uber has a stake in have recently gone public and are still subject to a lock-up period.

While Khosrowshahi said Uber would continue to hold some stakes for strategic reasons, it was looking to sell many of them, including in Didi.

“Our Didi stake we don’t believe is strategic. They’re a competitor, China is a pretty difficult environment with very little transparency,” the Uber CEO said.

Khosrowshahi said the company was in no rush to sell the shares. “Those kinds of stakes we look to monetize smartly over time,” he said.

Some investors have grown concerned that the roughly $13 billion Uber has tied up in other companies as of the end of the third quarter were sending the signal that investments were more attractive than putting freed-up capital into Uber’s own operations.

Uber’s stake in Didi drove a $2.4 billion net loss in the third quarter, when the company’s operational business achieved profitability on an adjusted earnings basis for the first time.

Shares in Didi, which has been rattled by a probe by Chinese regulators into its data practices, are down around 53% from their June 30 IPO price.

Under pressure from Chinese regulators, Didi earlier this month said it would withdraw from the U.S. stock exchange and pursue a Hong Kong listing. read more

Uber also holds stakes in Indian food delivery company Zomato (ZOMT.NS), rival Southeast-Asian Grab , self-driving company Aurora Innovation Inc (AUR.O) and others.

Reporting by Tina Bellon in Austin, Texas; Editing by Bill Berkrot

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