Didi Chuxing said to be weighing US$6b SoftBank-backed investment

Hong Kong

CHINESE ride-sharing giant Didi Chuxing is weighing whether to take a US$6 billion investment backed by SoftBank Group Corp that could dilute existing backers such as Apple Inc, people familiar with the matter say.

The Beijing-based company that ousted Uber from China now needs to balance the interests of its more than 100 investors, including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and China's sovereign wealth fund, the people said, asking not to be named because the matter is private. Chinese social media giant Tencent Holdings Ltd and Apple are considering if they should join the investment on a pro rata basis to avoid a dilution of their stakes, the people said. It's unclear if the money will be coming from the Japanese company itself or its yet-to-close US$100 billion SoftBank Vision Fund.