Mubasher: Uber priced its initial public offering (IPO) at $45 per share at the low end of its announced range, as it prepares for listing its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

The US ride-hailing giant plans to sell 180 million shares, which would raise $8.1 billion.

This means that the company will be valued at around $75.46 billion on a non-diluted basis, putting the shares’ market capitalisation close to the size of the world's leading heavy machinery maker Caterpillar.

Uber has an implied market valuation of $82.4 billion on a completely diluted basis.

“The underwriters [including Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) and Goldman Sachs] have been granted a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 27,000,000 shares from certain selling stockholders at the initial public offering price less underwriting discounts and commissions,” Uber said in a statement on Thursday.

In addition, Paypal agreed to purchase $500 million worth of Uber stocks in a concurrent private placement.

Previously, the company was reportedly seeking a valuation of up to $120 billion, while the estimated range was between $44 and $50 per share, as per mentioned in a filing last month.