China-based online parenting services and e-commerce platform Babytree attracted an undisclosed amount of funding from e-commerce group Alibaba yesterday.
Alibaba reportedly obtained a 10% stake in the business, which is now valued at $2.2bn.
Last week, beauty products e-commerce company Jumei International announced that it had sold a 4% stake in Babytree to a third-party investor for approximately $86.5m, reducing its shareholding to roughly 3.3%. It is unclear whether Alibaba was that unnamed investor.
Founded in 2007, Babytree operates a platform for parents to write online diaries about their experiences and engage with other users in a forum. The company also enables parents to buy baby and children’s products, and is developing early education tools.
Alibaba and Babytree will establish a long-term strategic partnership as part of the deal. Babytree will gain access to Alibaba’s ecosystem with a view of building build China’s largest social marketing platform for young families.
Conglomerate Fosun previously led a $450m funding round for Babytree in 2016, with participation from education services provider Tal Education Group, Matrix Partners, Chenshan Capital, China Merchants Wealth and undisclosed additional investors.
Tal Education had already invested $23.5m in 2014, followed by Jumei supplying $120m in convertible note financing in 2015 along with a $130m revolving credit facility.