A proposed $740 million settlement between Chinese ride-hailing company DiDi and its investors has advanced after a New York federal judge approved notice to class members and set a hearing to review the deal resolving claims tied to the company’s 2021 U.S. stock market debut.
In an order filed Monday in Manhattan, U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan authorized the distribution of settlement notices to eligible shareholders and scheduled a June hearing to determine whether the agreement meets legal standards for fairness, reasonableness, and adequacy.
Court filings emphasize that the settlement does not constitute any admission of wrongdoing by DiDi or the other defendants. Briefing on final approval, including motions related to attorneys’ fees and litigation costs, is expected to begin in mid-May.
Investors first sought approval to notify class members in December, describing the agreement as one of the largest securities class action settlements reached in decades. They characterized it as the twenty-fourth-largest U.S. securities class action settlement since the passage of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act in 1995 and the largest ever involving a China-based issuer.
According to the investors, the settlement eliminates significant uncertainty surrounding potential damages calculations, prolonged appeals, and the practical challenges of enforcing any judgment against a company headquartered in China.
The parties reached a binding agreement in principle in August, around the same time Judge Kaplan partially granted class certification. A final settlement stipulation was completed on Dec. 9, court records show.
The litigation dates back to 2021, when purchasers of DiDi’s American depositary shares sued the company, certain executives and directors, and a group of IPO underwriters. Those underwriters included Goldman Sachs’ Asia operations, Morgan Stanley, and investment banking units of JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America. Several defendants named in the original complaint have since been dismissed from the case.
Investors alleged that DiDi failed to disclose critical regulatory risks ahead of its $4.4 billion initial public offering. Specifically, they claimed the company did not inform investors that China’s Cyberspace Administration had directed DiDi to undergo a cybersecurity review before proceeding with the IPO.
According to the complaint, DiDi told regulators it would comply with that directive but nonetheless moved forward with the IPO as scheduled, exposing investors to regulatory fallout that later materialized.
Judge Kaplan declined to dismiss the case in March 2024, finding that DiDi’s risk disclosures were insufficient. He later certified certain investor claims in August 2025, following a recommendation from a magistrate judge. The settlement in principle was reached the same day class certification was granted.
Neither DiDi nor counsel for the investor class responded to requests for comment Tuesday.
The investor class is represented by Laurence M. Rosen, Daniel Tyre-Karp, and Robin Bronzaft Howald of The Rosen Law Firm PA.
DiDi Global is represented by Scott Musoff, Robert Fumerton, and Michael Griffin of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher and Flom LLP, along with Corey Worcester, Renita Sharma, and Sam Cleveland of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan LLP.
The case is In re DiDi Global Inc. Securities Litigation, case number 1:21-cv-05807, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
