Dida Chuxing, the China-based ride hailing service backed by corporate investors BitAuto, Nio, JD.com and Ctrip, has filed to float on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The company is reportedly targeting about $500m in the offering, which would represent the first IPO for a Chinese company operating in the ride hailing sector. Haitong International Capital and Nomura International are joint sponsors for the flotation.
Not to be confused with China’s market leader, Didi Chuxing, Dida operates an app-based on-demand ride service spanning 366 cities with a network of more than 19 million registered car owners who offer carpooling services, with the company taking a cut of the revenue.
Dida increased revenue almost fivefold to nearly $87m in 2019 and it generated approximately $46m in the first half of 2020, making a profit of about $22.5m in the same six months, according to the IPO filing.
The company was reportedly in discussions with prospective investors including internet group Tencent in January this year to raise about $300m at a $1bn valuation, though the round was never completed.
Nio Capital, the venture capital firm launched by electric carmaker Nio, led Dida’s last round, in 2017, when it received $29.8m in series D funding from investors also including e-commerce firm JD.com, VC group IDG Capital and hedge fund manager Hillhouse Capital.
Dida had raised $100m in a May 2015 series C round led by China Renaissance Capital Investment and backed by existing investors including BitAuto, the automotive sales service provider also known as Yiche, as well as TrustBridge Partners and IDG Capital.
BitAuto had led the company’s $20m series B round at the end of 2014, just after IDG Capital had supplied $10m in series A financing.
Nio Capital is Dida’s largest investor, with a 21.6% stake according to the IPO filing. IDG Capital owns 10.2% of its shares, China Renaissance Capital Investment 7.2%, BitAuto 5%, JD.com and Hillhouse Capital 4.1% each and online travel agency Ctrip 2.9%.
