Uber shares slide as SoftBank look to soften blow of Didi NYSE chaos

Uber shares have fallen after reports that technology investment firm SoftBank is selling a third of its stake in the ride-hailing app.

SoftBank is thought to be planning to offload up to 45 million shares, at an overall value of around $2bn.

The Japanese investment group bet big on Didi ahead of its New York Stock Exchange debut on 30 June, but since then its shares have plummeted by 40 per cent after actions by Chinese authorities worried investors.

According to CNBC, SoftBank has lost around $4bn total on its Didi position.

According to Reuters, however, SoftBank were not selling their shares in Uber at this moment in time to offset any losses from Didi. They added that the company just felt it was a good time to sell part of their position in Uber.

In 2018, SoftBank poured in around $7.6bn into Uber and added another $333m to that investment the following year.

SoftBank is Didi’s largest shareholder, with a stake of over 20 per cent.

China’s crackdown on some of its largest technology companies has hit their stock prices hard in recent months. Tencent, the music streaming platform, saw its share price fall by 7 per cent as the authorities ordered an end to its exclusive music rights deals.

Uber’s shares had fallen by as much as 5 per cent in extended trading, but had recovered to -3.99 per cent.