China-based bicycle sharing platform Ofo is “close to” raising a nine-figure dollar amount from investors including ride hailing service Didi Chuxing and financial services provider Ant Financial, 36Kr reported today.
The capital would make up part of a series E round that already includes $866m in debt and equity financing from investors including Ant Financial at a reported $3bn valuation as well as a $700m first tranche, according to people familiar with the matter.
Ofo runs a dockless, app-based bike rental service that claimed earlier this year to have some 200 million users across 21 countries.
Despite rapid growth, the company has however been on the retreat in recent months, withdrawing from markets including Australia, Indian and Germany, and cutting back operations significantly in the US.
The company is also being sued for $10m by bicycle manufacturer Shanghai Phoenix over the alleged failure to fulfil an order for 5 million bikes it agreed in May 2017.
Reports early last month suggested Didi Chuxing and Ant Financial had begun talks to acquire Ofo for up to $2bn – $200m less than its total equity funding – though no further news on that front has emerged.
Alibaba, the e-commerce group that spun off Ant Financial, led the round’s $866m second tranche in March, which also featured Haofeng Group, Tianhe Capital and Junli Capital.
The second close followed a $700m first tranche co-led by Alibaba and Hony Capital that included Didi Chuxing, Citic Private Equity and DST Global in July 2017, three months after Ant Financial made an investment of undisclosed size.
Didi Chuxing had taken part in Ofo’s $450m series D round, which was led by DST and backed by Citic Private Equity, Coatue Management and Matrix Partners, in March 2017. The series D investors had joined Vision Plus Capital, GSR Ventures and Yuri Milner for a $130m round in 2016.