Uber quizzed on growth at IPO roadshow in London

LONDON (Reuters): Uber Technologies Inc UBER.N Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi sought to persuade money managers in London that the loss-making ride hailing firm’s growth plans justified a valuation of up to $91.5 billion in an initial public offering (IPO).

In the ballroom at Claridge’s, the five-star hotel in London’s wealthy Mayfair district, over 100 investors listened on Monday to Khosrowshahi and CFO Nelson Chai talk about the company’s plans to expand their food delivery business and venture into other new business areas like shopping.

Uber is trying to show investors that it can shift from being simply a ride-hailing service to a technology platform for services ranging from delivering groceries and take-away meals to organising freight transportation.

“While they didn’t call themselves Amazon, they made several references to their platform and how they intend to build that out,” said one investor who attended the hour-long presentation but declined to be named.

Uber reported on Friday that it was aiming for a valuation of between $80.5 billion and $91.5 billion, less than the $120 billion investment bankers told the company last year it could fetch.