<div>Chinese ride-sharing giant Didi will take over Uber's China business, in a deal worth USD 35 billion as the US car-hailing firm gave in after fierce competition from its rival in the world's second largest economy.<br /><br />Uber will take a 5.89 per cent stake in Didi. Didi did not disclose the stake it will take in Uber. Uber China's on-demand mobility (ODM) service will continue to operate independently. The deal follows China's legalistion of ODM services.<br /><br />Uber's founder Travis Kalanick and Didi founder Cheng Wei will sit on each other's company boards.<br /><br />The two companies have been locked in a bitter battle for customers in China marked by huge customer discounts since last year.<br /><br />Post the merger of its Chinese business, Uber is expected to focus more aggressively on the Indian market, its third biggest market after the US and China, at present.<br /><br />Interestingly in India, Uber is locked in an intense battle with market leader Ola which counts Didi as an investor.<br /><br />Didi had picked up a stake in Bengaluru-based Ola last year as a part of the USD 500 million funding round.<br /><br />Last December, Didi Chuxing, along with Ola, US-based Lyft and GrabTaxi had also formed a global pact to share customers and technology across countries to compete with Uber.<br /><br />Uber has been pumping in substantial funds to fuel its growth in India. In July last year, Uber had announced an investment of USD 1 billion in India to expand its services here. It has also set up a response and support centre in Hyderabad with an investment of USD 50 million.<br /><br />India is also expected to be a major beneficiary of the USD 3.5-billion fund raised by Uber earlier this year as the US-based firm looks to overtake local rival Ola.<br /><br />There were also reports suggesting that Uber may buy Ola, though the Indian company rubbished those saying it has "no intentions of selling to Uber".<br /><br />Uber is one of very few foreign tech firms that has been able to compete with domestic rivals head-on in China.<br /><br />While Didi holds a majority share in China's ODM services, Uber has managed to establish a foothold, and has made inroads into lower-tier cities this year to further threaten Didi's dominance.<br /><br />The competition has seen the two companies locked in a discount war in an attempt to poach riders away from each other's platforms.<br /><br />In June, Didi announced it had secured USD 7.3 billion in equity and debt financing, including USD 1 billion from Apple which valued the start-up at around USD 28 billion.<br />Uber has secured over USD 6 billion in its latest funding.<br /><br />Liu Zhen, Uber China head of strategy, said in June that most of the money raised will fund Uber's operations in China.<br /><br />While Uber has generated over USD 1 billion in profit from its top 30 cities worldwide, the company has not yet turned a profit in any Chinese city, even though it provides more trips in China than any other country, Kalanick said.</div>
<div>Chinese ride-sharing giant Didi will take over Uber's China business, in a deal worth USD 35 billion as the US car-hailing firm gave in after fierce competition from its rival in the world's second largest economy.<br /><br />Uber will take a 5.89 per cent stake in Didi. Didi did not disclose the stake it will take in Uber. Uber China's on-demand mobility (ODM) service will continue to operate independently. The deal follows China's legalistion of ODM services.<br /><br />Uber's founder Travis Kalanick and Didi founder Cheng Wei will sit on each other's company boards.<br /><br />The two companies have been locked in a bitter battle for customers in China marked by huge customer discounts since last year.<br /><br />Post the merger of its Chinese business, Uber is expected to focus more aggressively on the Indian market, its third biggest market after the US and China, at present.<br /><br />Interestingly in India, Uber is locked in an intense battle with market leader Ola which counts Didi as an investor.<br /><br />Didi had picked up a stake in Bengaluru-based Ola last year as a part of the USD 500 million funding round.<br /><br />Last December, Didi Chuxing, along with Ola, US-based Lyft and GrabTaxi had also formed a global pact to share customers and technology across countries to compete with Uber.<br /><br />Uber has been pumping in substantial funds to fuel its growth in India. In July last year, Uber had announced an investment of USD 1 billion in India to expand its services here. It has also set up a response and support centre in Hyderabad with an investment of USD 50 million.<br /><br />India is also expected to be a major beneficiary of the USD 3.5-billion fund raised by Uber earlier this year as the US-based firm looks to overtake local rival Ola.<br /><br />There were also reports suggesting that Uber may buy Ola, though the Indian company rubbished those saying it has "no intentions of selling to Uber".<br /><br />Uber is one of very few foreign tech firms that has been able to compete with domestic rivals head-on in China.<br /><br />While Didi holds a majority share in China's ODM services, Uber has managed to establish a foothold, and has made inroads into lower-tier cities this year to further threaten Didi's dominance.<br /><br />The competition has seen the two companies locked in a discount war in an attempt to poach riders away from each other's platforms.<br /><br />In June, Didi announced it had secured USD 7.3 billion in equity and debt financing, including USD 1 billion from Apple which valued the start-up at around USD 28 billion.<br />Uber has secured over USD 6 billion in its latest funding.<br /><br />Liu Zhen, Uber China head of strategy, said in June that most of the money raised will fund Uber's operations in China.<br /><br />While Uber has generated over USD 1 billion in profit from its top 30 cities worldwide, the company has not yet turned a profit in any Chinese city, even though it provides more trips in China than any other country, Kalanick said.</div>