UPDATE 1-Lyft rebuffs acquisition interest from GM - report
(Adds no comment from GM, Lyft; background on Lyft, Uber Technologies rivalry)
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Ride hailing company Lyft rebuffed acquisition interest from General Motors Co and will raise a new funding round instead, technology website The Information reported on Friday, citing two people familiar with the situation.
GM and Lyft representatives did not immediately comment on the report. GM invested $500 million in Lyft in January and has since said it plans to expand its alliance with the ride services company.
In a July interview with Reuters, GM President Dan Ammann declined to comment on whether GM would invest more in Lyft. John Zimmer, Lyft's president, said in the same interview that his company had several advisers, including investment bank Qatalyst Partners, but declined to comment on funding plans.
Speculation about Lyft's funding plans comes as its larger rival, Uber Technologies Inc, has merged its money-losing Chinese operations with those of Chinese rival Did Chuxing in a deal announced earlier this month. Didi will invest $1 billion in Uber operations outside of China, giving Uber more money to use against Lyft and other rivals in the United States, Europe and other markets.
Lyft solicited other potential strategic acquirers before opting for the new funding round, said The Information. (Reporting by Dan Levine; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Tom Brown)
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