Chinese company Didi Chuxing, one of Uber’s main competitors, has bought Brazilian mobile phone application 99 (formerly 99Taxis), following an investment of US$100 million in January 2017, an amount that only gave it a minority stake, the Brazilian press reported.

The information was reported on Tuesday by the Valor Econômico newspaper and by newspaper columnist Lauro Jardim in the O Globo newspaper. The newspapers reported that the Chinese company valued 99 at US$1 billion and bought the stakes held by investment funds Riverwood Capital, Monashees, Qualcomm Ventures, Tiger Global and Softbank.

Columnist Lauro Jardim said that Didi Chuxing paid 900 million reais (US$292 million) to take control of 99.

The investment by the Chinese company in January 2017, which earned it a seat on the board of directors, was accompanied by US fund Riverwood Capital and in May by Japanese fund Softbank, which invested US$100 million in the 99 app.

The 99 application was launched in 2012 as a taxi application, and at the time was called 99Taxis. In 2016 it launched the 99POP application, using private drivers, to compete directly with Uber in Brazil. (macauhub)