优步筹谋新一轮融资

Uber is planning a new round of fundraising that would at least match the $68bn peak valuation it reached before this year’s round of scandals — though investors who take part would be able to buy into the ride hailing company at a lower overall price than the headline number suggests.

优步(Uber)正筹划新一轮融资，至少能回到今年丑闻风波之前其所达到的680亿美元的估值高峰，不过参与此次融资的投资者可以低于上述目标值建议的总体价格买入这家叫车服务公司。

The unusual arrangement, confirmed by two people familiar with the plan, is designed to help Uber maintain that it has not fallen from the high-water mark set by its last investment round more than a year ago, despite the upheaval from a sexual harassment scandal this year that has gutted its senior executive ranks.

经两名知情人证实，这一不寻常的安排旨在帮助优步坚称其没有从一年多前上一轮融资所设置的高水位上掉下来，虽然今年的性骚扰丑闻风波已打击了其高管力量。

The plan would include a secondary sale of shares by existing investors at a current market valuation that is likely to be some way below $68bn.

该计划将包括现有投资者以当前市场估值出手所持股票，目前估值可能会低于680亿美元。

The fundraising plan is part of an attempt by Uber’s board to bring more stability to the company’s shareholder base as it tries to recover from the departure of founder Travis Kalanick as chief executive officer.

此次融资计划是优步董事会提高公司股东基础稳定性的一次尝试，它试图从创始人特拉维斯•卡兰尼克(Travis Kalanick)被免去首席执行官职务的打击中恢复过来。

Pairing it with a secondary share sale would also give existing investors, including employees, a chance to cash in part of their holdings at a time when the chances of an initial public offering in the near-term appear to be receding.

加入股票转手方案也使现有投资者(包括员工)有机会在当前这个时刻进行部分套现，眼下短期内进行首次公开发行(IPO)的可能性似乎有所下降。

It could also reduce the influence of venture capital firm Benchmark, which owns 13 per cent of Uber’s stock and earlier this month mounted a high-profile lawsuit against Mr Kalanick.

它还可以减少风险投资公司Benchmark的影响，该公司拥有优步13%的股票，曾在本月初对卡兰尼克发起引人注目的诉讼。

The sale by Uber itself would raise around $1bn and be set at or above the valuation Uber achieved in June last year, when it sold a 5 per cent stake to Saudi Arabia for $3.5bn. The secondary share sale, on the other hand, would be for as much as $10bn, and would reflect a market price that took into account the company’s struggles this year.

优步本身的出售将筹得10亿美元左右，而且让优步的估值达到或高于去年6月的水平，当时优步以35亿美元的价格将5%的股权出售给沙特阿拉伯。另一方面，此次股票转手最高可达到100亿美元，可以反映出该公司经历今年困境后的市场价格。

To enable Uber to sell the higher-priced shares, investors who bought in would be offered the chance to buy the secondary stock on a pro-rata basis, resulting in an average price per share at a discount to the headline valuation.

为了让优步以更高价位出售股票，持有股票的投资者将有机会按比例买入转手股票，这将导致每股平均价格低于目标估值。

The arrangement — showing that Uber itself could still raise some money at the $68bn valuation — would save face for Saudi Arabia, which would otherwise be seen as having overpaid for its stake in the company last year, according to one person familiar with the plan.

这一安排显示优步本身仍可以按680亿美元的估值来融资。据一位知情人士表示，这一安排将为沙特阿拉伯挽回颜面，否则沙特阿拉伯将被认为去年收购优步股票时支付了过高费用。

Another person said that the structure would also save other Uber investors from being forced to write down the value of their existing holdings. Writedowns normally follow a so-called “down round”, when a private company raises new money at a lower valuation than it did before.

另一位知情人表示，这一结构还可以拯救其他优步投资者不必被迫减记其现有持股的价值。减记通常发生在所谓的“流血融资”(down round，估值较低的融资-译者注)之后，即一家私企在估值下降时进行新一轮融资。

They may not avoid a writedown, however, if the average price paid by investors is taken as a yardstick for the company’s present value.

不过他们可能还是无法避免减记，如果投资者支付的平均价格被当做公司当前估值的标准。