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Lyft valued at $24.3 billion in first ride-hailing IPO
(Reuters) - Lyft Inc was valued at $24.3 billion in the first initial public offering (IPO) of a ride-hailing startup on Thursday, raising more than it had set off to do as investors overlooked uncertainty over its path to becoming a profitable company.
Lyft's IPO sets the stage for the stock market debut of larger rival Uber Technologies Inc, which Reuters has reported will kick off in April. Uber has been told by its investment bankers that it could be valued at as much as $120 billion.
The success of the IPO came despite Lyft's steep loses, criticism of its dual-class share structure and some concerns over its strategy for autonomous driving, for fear of missing out on the company's strong revenue growth.
"In a good market, people look beyond things. They don't see the problems as much," said Brian Hamilton, co-founder of data firm Sageworks, speaking before the pricing.
The ride-hailing industry is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years, as young millennials in big cities choose not to buy their own car. Yet the sector is fraught with questions about the future of automated driving, regulatory pushback and legal challenges over drivers’ pay and benefits.
Lyft's valuation makes it the biggest company to go public since Alibaba Group Holding Ltd in 2014. It paves the way for other Silicon Valley companies seeking to float in the stock market this year, including Pinterest Inc, Slack Technologies Inc and Postmates Inc.
https://www.marketscreener.com/S-AMP-P-500-4985/news/Lyft-valued-at-24-3-billion-in-first-ride-hailing-IPO-28256754/
Russia raids homes of Crimean Tatars ahead of Ukraine election
SIMFEROPOL, Crimea (AFP-Jiji) — Russian authorities in annexed Crimea raided the homes of Muslim Tatars Wednesday and detained at least 20 people suspected of belonging to a banned Islamist group ahead of this week’s presidential vote in Ukraine.
Supporters decried the latest act of “intimidation” against members of the ethnic group, most of whom oppose Russia’s annexation, and said the raids were among the largest in recent years.
Washington said it was “extremely concerned” by the arrests.
Most Crimean Tatars have refused to renounce their Ukrainian citizenship and some are planning to vote in the first round of Sunday’s presidential poll.
In a statement, Russia’s FSB security service said it had searched the homes of suspected members of the Hizb-ut-Tahrir group.
“Twenty of its rank-and-file members and leaders have been detained,” the FSB said after conducting raids with police and other law enforcement agencies.
Hizb-ut-Tahrir (Party of Liberation) seeks to reestablish a Caliphate — a pan-Islamic state based on Islamic rule harking back to medieval times — and has been banned in Russia since 2003.
The FSB accused members of the organization of seeking to promote “an ideology based on terrorism” and recruit other Crimean Tatars. The security service claimed it had seized materials proving individuals’ links to the banned group.
Lawyer Emil Kurbedinov said 23 people had been detained in large-scale raids that involved hundreds of FSB officers and other law enforcement agents.
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0005636070