Uber is set to unveil the terms of its hotly anticipated stock market flotation, with the ride-hailing service targeting a valuation of $80bn to $90bn – substantially less than bankers had suggested the business could be worth but still the highest valuation for a US tech company since Facebook floated in 2012.
The 10-year old company, which recently warned it may never “achieve profitability”, is expected to release documents on Friday outlining details of its initial public offering, including the number of shares to be sold and the proposed price range.
The stock market valuation Uber is hoping to achieve, which could raise proceeds of $8bn to $10bn, is almost a third less than the $120bn investment bankers last year said the company could fetch. Uber was valued at $76bn in a private fundraising in August.
Uber’s more moderate expectations follow the underwhelming performance of its smaller rival Lyft, which has seen its share price fall by a fifth after its initial public offering last month.
If Uber achieves a proposed share price range of $44-$50 per share, first reported by Bloomberg, it will still rank as the largest IPO since the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba in 2014. It will rank as the second-largest IPO by a US tech company after Facebook, which floated with a valuation of $104bn in 2012.
Uber is also set to sell about $500m worth of stock to PayPal in a private placing at the IPO price, according to Refinitiv IFR.
Uber and PayPal, which processes payments for Uber in the US and several other countries, are also expected to announce an expanded global commercial agreement.
Uber will kick off an investor roadshow on Monday, to drum up investor interest on both sides of the Atlantic, before debuting on the New York Stock Exchange in early May.
In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this month, Uber revealed it is still burning through cash and running up big losses as it seeks market share over profitability.
The company has run up losses of $12bn since 2014. Revenue rose 42% last year to $11.3bn, while operating losses narrowed to $3.03bn. Cash burn was $2.1bn last year.