Major shareholders of DiDi Global (NYSE: DIDI) voted on Monday to voluntarily delist shares from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
In the press release announcing the results of the extraordinary meeting called for the vote, shareholders representing over half (roughly 66%) of the company's outstanding ordinary stocks voted on a one-vote-per-share basis to decide on delisting. Shareholders included significant investors such as SoftBank Group (OTC: SFTBY) and Tencent Holdings (OTC: TCEHY). Of the over 800,000,000 votes cast, an overwhelming majority of 96% were in favor of delisting, effectively marking the end of DiDi's short and chaotic cross-listing in the US.
DiDi's decision was more than likely motivated by pressure from an ongoing cybersecurity probe by Chinese regulators, which asked the tech firm to delist its American Depository Receipts (ADRs) in December, and ordered the suspension of new user registration as well. The move may be an attempt to placate Chinese regulators, who were displeased with DiDi's "leaking" of data in the U.S. market. Even if Chinese regulators relented, Didi still faced pressure from the SEC over its obligation to comply with disclosure laws or face a penalty of delisting.
The company noted in a 20-F form filed earlier this month that "delisting from the NYSE would make it more difficult for us to raise capital by making our shares less attractive to potential investors, which could force us to rely on ways of raising capital that are less favorable than those normally available to listed companies." While listing in Hong Kong to remain open to foreign investors has been pitched by executives at DiDi, it is unlikely that Chinese securities regulators would approve of such a listing until Cybersecurity officials complete their probe. At the least for the short term, DiDi's delisting will place it largely out of reach of western investors.
Whether American investors will recoup any losses from the company's disastrous IPO remains to be seen, as DiDi going private seemed to be the only way for shareholders to recoup their losses completely by paying out at the original price. Delisting from the NYSE would likely pay investors out close to or below the company's current share price, well below the IPO price of $14. DiDi stocks have remained mostly flat through the beginning of the week, sliding 0.65% from Monday's opening price by Tuesday afternoon, sitting at $1.53 by 2 p.m.