By Jody Godoy
(Reuters) – The U.S. Securities Exchange Commission is investigating Didi Global Inc over its $4.4 billion initial public offering in the United States in June last year, the Chinese ride-hailing giant said.
Didi was cooperating with the U.S. securities regulator’s investigation related to the offering, “subject to strict compliance” with Chinese law, the company said in its annual filing on Monday.
“We cannot predict the timing, outcome or consequences of such an investigation,” Didi added.
The company did not provide further details about the nature of the investigation.
A spokesperson for the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. An SEC spokesperson said the agency does not comment on possible investigations.
The IPO came under scrutiny by Chinese authorities last summer over data privacy concerns. Chinese regulators had urged the firm to put its listing on hold while a cybersecurity review of its data practices was conducted, sources have told Reuters.
Days after it went ahead, the country’s powerful cyberspace watchdog ordered app stores to remove 25 mobile apps operated by Didi and told the company to stop registering new users, citing national security and the public interest.
Didi subsequently announced in December that it would delist its American Depositary Shares from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and pursue a listing in Hong Kong.
Didi shareholders will vote on May 23 on its plans to delist those ADRs.
(Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
