China's DiDi to become 2nd-largest shareholder of state-backed NavInfo unit

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese ride-hailing giant DiDi Global will swap cash plus its smart driving and cockpit unit for 16.5% of AutoAi, a subsidiary of state-backed maps firm NavInfo, the latter said in a stock exchange filing on Wednesday.

DiDi Smart Transportation Technology will make up 87% of AutoAi's plan to boost its registered capital by 27.45 million yuan ($3.85 million), with NavInfo contributing the remainder, showed the filing with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

DiDi will become the second-largest shareholder of AutoAi, a provider of intelligent cockpits-related software and hardware. NavInfo will be the biggest shareholder with 27%.

The deal, which confirms a Reuters report on Monday, values the DiDi subsidiary at 450 million yuan, the filing showed.

DiDi expects the deal will help it pull back significantly from electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing where automakers compete fiercely in a consolidating market, sources have said.

The ride-hailer sold its EV development business, comprising the majority of its EV-related assets, to Xpeng in 2023 in a deal worth $744 million, in exchange for a roughly 3.25% stake in the automaker.

($1 = 7.1312 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Qiaoyi Li and Kevin Krolicki; Additional reporting by Julie Zhu in Hong Kong; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

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