PayPal Investing $500 mn in Uber

Global online payments system PayPal is investing $500 million in Uber ahead of the highly anticipated Initial Public Offering (IPO), the media cited the ride-sharing major updated S1 filing.

"I don't think you spend that kind of money unless it's part of a global strategy to enable these new super-platforms," Ryan Gilbert, Partner at Venture Capital Firm Propel Ventures was quoted as saying by the CNBC.

"PayPal needs to step on the growth gas pedal and these investments will buy the company access to millions of global customers."

Earlier in March, the payments major had invested $750 million in Argentina's e-commerce giant MercadoLibre.

PayPal has been working with Uber providing payment services since 2013 and is its lead processing partner in the US and Australia (but not the only one globally), according to the TechCrunch.

Notably, this is the second big pre-IPO investment that Uber has announced this month.

The self driving unit of the global ride-sharing major announced a $1 billion investment from Japanese conglomerate SoftBanks Vision Fund, car manufacturer Toyota and automotive component supplier Denso last week.

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Uber officially filed its IPO process last week with the public filing of its prospectus. It would be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol "UBER".

According to market sources, the company may provide a price range for its shares later in April and would go public in May. (IANS)