Uber ‘files for longawaited IPO’

Uber Technologies has filed paperwork for an initial public offering, according to three sources. The ride-hailing company filed the confidential paperwork on Thursday, one of the sources said, in lock-step with its smaller US rival, Lyft, which also announced on Thursday it had filed for an IPO.

The simultaneous filings extend the protracted battle between Uber and Lyft, which have often matched each other’s prices. Uber is eager to beat Lyft to Wall Street, according to sources, a sign of the company’s entrenched competitiveness.

Its filing sets the stage for one of the biggest technology listings ever.

Uber’s valuation in its most recent private financing was $76 billion, and it could be worth $120 billion in an IPO. Its listing next year would be the largest in what is expected to be a string of public debuts by highly valued Silicon Valley compa- nies, including apartment-renting company Airbnb. Ongoing market volatility, however, could alter companies’ plans.

The IPO will be a test of public market investor tolerance for Uber’s legal and workplace controversies, which embroiled the company for most of last year, and on Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi’s progress in turning around the company.

Khosrowshahi took over just over a year ago and has repeatedly stated he would take Uber public in 2019. In August, he hired the company’s first chief financial officer in more than three years. Together, Uber and Lyft will test public market investor receptiveness for the ridehailing business, which has proven