Didi Acquires 99 for $1B to Expand Into Latin America

Didi, the Chinese ride hailing giant, acquired 99, the second largest ride hailing company in Brazil for a reported $1B, according to TechCrunch. Didi has previously invested $100M into 99 in 2017.

This acquisition is significant for two big reasons:

First, after Didi beat Uber in the Chinese market and acquired their assets, they are now competing in Latin America, Uber’s fastest growing region, in Brazil the 5th largest country in the world.

Second, it’s the first large acquisition by a Chinese technology company in Latin America. In a region where exits have been hard to come by, China’s entry into the market could be a one off event or a mark of things to come. Previous early stage investors Monashees+, Urizen Ventures and StartCap Ventures have another successful investment to showcase in Brazil.

For more in depth reading, check out:

New York Times coverage

Bloomberg coverage

Recode coverage

Chinese Investors Target Latin America via VentureBeat

Overview on Doing Business in Brazil