Uber could be the big IPO of 2019

Uber could receive a valuation of as high as $120bn in its upcoming initial public offering, almost double the price-tag the ride-hailing company landed in August.

The proposals from US banks suggested Uber seek a valuation much higher than the $76bn it was valued at in August during its most recent fundraising round.

They are also said to indicate that the initial public offering could take place early next year, sooner than had been expected.

Up until now, Uber boss Dara Khosrowshahi has repeatedly said the company would seek to go public in the second half of September.

The documents were reportedly delivered last month by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, the two banks which were already understood to be the chief contenders to lead the initial public offering prior to Tuesday’s reports. The details were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Uber declined to comment.

The reports suggest Uber is starting to ramp up work for the IPO, having already put in place a new chief financial officer in August and last year installing Mr Khosrowshahi at the head of the company.

Uber does not have to follow through with banks’ proposals, and could choose to join the public markets at a later date. However, an IPO in early 2019 may prove tempting if Uber wants to steal a lead on smaller rival Lyft, which is thought to be planning its own IPO for March or April.

Uber is due to make a market debut by the end of 2019 as part of an investment deal with Japan’s SoftBank, which has a stake of some 15 percent.

The ridesharing group last year hired a new chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, who has vowed to fix the company’s work culture and business practices after a series of missteps and scandals over executive misconduct, a toxic work atmosphere and potentially unethical competitive practices.

Under Khosrowshahi, Uber has moved to boost transparency and become more accountable. Last month, it settle an investigation into a 2016 data breach with a payment of $148 million, and earlier this year reached a settled with former Google car unit Waymo over allegedly stolen trade secrets.

Uber reported a loss of $891 million in the second quarter as revenues jumped 63 percent to $2.8 billion, with bookings hitting $12 billion.

As it expands its ridesharing services, Uber is also seeking to become a major player in autonomous cars, and has agreed to buy and adapt vehicles from Volvo to begin operating self-driving taxis.