According to three people with knowledge of the matter, Uber Technologies Inc has filed the requisite paperwork for an initial public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the last week.
According to sources, the rivalry between the globally renowned ride-hailing company, Uber, and its smaller US rival, Lyft Inc, was visible in their IPO filings as Uber confidentially filed for the IPO on the December 6, 2018, while Lyft announced on Thursday that it had filed for an IPO.
The concurrent filings extend the prolonged battle between these two companies, which have both rolled out competitive services and played the price game identical to each other.
However, when it comes to valuations, Uber has overtaken its rival by some considerable distance. According to analysts, its filing has set the stage for one of the biggest technology listings ever. Expected to make its stock market debut in 2019, it’s expected to be the largest listing among the string of public debuts by some highly valued Silicon Valley companies like Airbnb and Slack. Valued at around $76 billion, computed in its most recent private financing, analysts expect the valuation to go up to $120 billion during the IPO.
Although Uber is yet to select its lead banker, Morgan Stanley (MS) played a key role in writing the prospectus.