Uber IPO blitz

$6M lobbying as it plans to go public

ALBANY — Uber is banking on New York — and ready to go public.

The ride-sharing giant dropped $5.9 million lobbying both state and local officials in the Empire State as lawmakers crafted congestion pricing plans and legislation governing for-hire vehicles, according to an annual report released Thursday by the state’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics.

The disclosure came hours before the company revealed it is seeking a listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “UBER.” The company’s filing provides a first look into the ridehailing company’s finances, revealing that by the end of 2018 it had 91 million subscribers.

Reuters reported this week Uber plans to sell around $10 billion of stock at a valuation of between $90 billion and $100 billion. Investment bankers had previously told Uber it could be worth as much as $120 billion.

As far as lobbying, Uber spent most of the money on advertising as the city became the first in the nation to pass legislation capping the number of ride-hail vehicles on its roads. Only about $800,000 is going directly to lobbying firms.

The company, which more than doubled spending from a year earlier, became an unlikely champion of charging drivers to enter parts of Manhattan, saying in October it would invest $10 million over the next three years on a “campaign for sustainable mobility.”

The ethics panel report shows that Uber was not alone in spending big bucks in the Empire State. A record $261.2 million was spent in the state last year by lobbyists and influencers seeking to sway legislation in their favor, a $21.2 million increase from 2017.