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China: Uber-Didi’smega deal expects little regulator opposition

By  |  August 16, 2016

An alliance between the top two players in an industry often piques an antitrust watchdog’s scrutiny. Less so with the Chinese mega-merger between the two largest on-demand ride services on the planet, Uber Technologies Inc. and local champion Didi Chuxing.

Didi’s decision to buy out Uber’s Chinese operation creates a $35 billion ride-sharing juggernaut holding sway over almost 90 percent of the market. Yet the odds are slim that the commerce ministry or other agencies will nix such a high-profile deal involving a bona-fide national champion, legal and industry experts say.

Helping the chances of a deal sailing through is the struggle by China to come to grips with a regulatory framework for the sharing economy, an industry with which it has little experience. While Uber and Didi have operated in the country for years, it was only last month that the government said they would make them legal. Regulators are also likely to provide a generous classification of the company’s market: though it reigns supreme in ride-sharing, it’s only one of scores of players in the nation’s transport system.

Full Content: Bloomberg

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