優步即將上市的另一征兆

????《華爾街日報》稱，中國的高瓴資本正在牽頭發起對優步的新一輪投資，總額可能高達10億美元。根據雙方簽訂的可轉債協議，投資人可將債券以低于公司IPO發行價的價格轉換為優步的股份。這樣一來，優步越是遲遲不上市，投資人的回報就越高，這為優步盡快啟動上市計劃增加了時間壓力。今年1月，優步曾以類似的交易框架，從高盛財富管理部門籌資約16億美元。

????高瓴資本的進入之所以引起人們的關注，原因有兩個：一是這家總部位于北京的企業是亞洲最大的基金管理公司之一，管理的資產超過了200億美元；二是高瓴資本此前投資技術公司獲得了豐厚的回報，其中包括騰訊。

????與這種知名公司合作也有助于優步實現其做大中國業務的雄心壯志。本月早些時候，公司首席執行官特拉維斯·卡蘭尼克在一封流傳出來的郵件中表示，優步將投入10億美元以擴張中國業務，這是公司目前的“頭號任務”。目前，它已在全球300多個城市展開運營。

????因為高瓴資本也是滴滴快的的投資者，該交易引發了一些爭議。滴滴快滴是中國最大的叫車應用，也是優步在中國的主要競爭對手，高瓴資本投資優步的消息可能會讓滴滴快的感到不安。此外，多家亞洲科技網站此前在一份消費者報告中稱，2014年1月至2015年5月期間，從滴滴快的應用中泄漏的客戶數據要多于優步。（財富中文網）

????翻譯：Charlie

????審校：夏林

????Chinese fund manager Hillhouse Capital Group is leading an investment in the ride-sharing company that could reach around $1 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. The convertible bond deal involves buying bonds that can be converted into shares at a discount to the company’s IPO price. The longer it takes for Uber to go public, the greater the return for investors, providing a time-laden incentive for the company to launch an IPO soon. Uber had previously raised around $1.6 billion from the wealth-management division of Goldman Sachs GS -1.82% in a very similar deal in January.

????The entrance of Hillhouse is also notable for two reasons: The Beijing-based firm is one of the biggest fund managers in Asia, overseeing assets in excess of $20 billion; and Hillhouse’s previous investments in technology firms, such as China’s Tencent Holdings, have paid off.

????Working with such a prominent firm also plays well with Uber’s ambitions to go big in China. Earlier this month, CEO Travis Kalanick said in an email that went public that the company’s global team was spending $1 billion on expanding into China, making it the company’s “number one priority”. Uber already operates in around 300 cities.

????The deal should also send confusing signals to Didi Kuaidi, the largest taxi-hailing app in China, and, by definition, Uber’s biggest competitor. Hillhouse is also an investor in the Chinese startup, and this latest news will worry them. This comes after tech sites in Asia highlighted a consumer report that Didi Kuadi had experienced more customer data leaks from taxi apps between January of 2014 and May of 2015 in China when compared to Uber.