Asian Tech Press (Feb 11) -- Chinese gaming and social media company Tencent Holdings Ltd denied that it had increased its stake in DiDi Global Inc. (DIDI) after the Chinese top ride-hailing firm's U.S. IPO.

Tencent said Friday that the company has never bought more Didi shares since the ride-hailing company launched its initial public offering (IPO) in the United States.

U.S. regulatory filings showed the gaming and social media giant had increased its stake in Didi, which pushed the latter's shares up nearly 9% on Thursday. However, after Tencent clarified the rumors, Didi shares fell nearly 6% pre-market trading.

Tencent's filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday showed the company had added about 1.79 million Class A ordinary shares to its holdings in Didi.

As of Dec. 31, 2021, Tencent held about 78.85 million Class A ordinary shares, or 7.4%, up from 6.6 % disclosed by Didi before its IPO last June.

A Tencent spokesman said Friday that the company subscribed for those additional shares during Didi's IPO, which just hadn't been disclosed previously, and Tencent hasn't bought more Didi shares since its IPO.

Didi went public on June 30, 2021, on the New York Stock Exchange, raising at least $4.4 billion and valuing it at more than $67 billion. However, on only its third day of trading it came under cybersecurity reviews by China's Internet regulator, the State Internet Information Office (SIIO).

Last December Didi announced that it would start the process of delisting from the NYSE and launch preparations for a Hong Kong IPO.

From the listing to the announcement of the proposed delisting, Didi has been listed on the U.S. stock market for a total of 156 days, while its share price and market cap have both been slashed.

By the time Didi announced its planned delisting, its after-hours share price was $7.80 and total market value was $37.6 billion, about half of its valuation at the time of IPO.