E-commerce group Alibaba is set to invest $1.25bn in China-based online food delivery service Ele.me in a deal that would make it Ele.me’s largest shareholder, Caixin has reported.
Ele.me operates an online service through which users can order food to be delivered to their homes. Alibaba will acquire a 27.7% stake through the investment, valuing Ele.me at more than $4.5bn.
Ele.me raised $630m from internet company Tencent, e-commerce firm JD.com, Citic Private Equity, China Media Capital, Gopher Asset and Sequoia Capital in an August 2015 series F round that took its overall funding to about $1.1bn and valued it at more than $3bn.
Ride sharing company Didi Kuaidi, also an Alibaba portfolio company, subsequently invested an undisclosed amount in Ele.me, according to reports last month.
The company previously secured $350m in January 2015 from JD, Tencent, local listings and reviews platform Dianping, Sequoia and Citic PE, after Dianping invested $80m in the company in May 2014.