Alisports, the sports affiliate of China-based e-commerce group Alibaba, raised RMB1.2bn ($290m) in series A funding on Tuesday from investors including insurance firm China Taiping Insurance, according to China Money Network.
The round was led by Yunfeng Capital, the investment firm co-founded by Alibaba’s executive chairman Jack Ma.The investment valued the company at $1.3bn.
Alisports announced the round at the same time as it disclosed its acquisition of fitness app and wearables producer Ledongli for an undisclosed amount.
Founded in 2015, Alisports operates a professional sports platform that integrates services such as e-commerce, media, marketing, cloud computing and video and targets areas such as ticketing, events management and copyright.
The company entered a strategic partnership with sports body Olympic Council of Asia to make esports an official part of the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou in China.
Alisports will use Ledongli’s fitness offering as an entry point into new sports retail, a term coined by the company for a business model that combines online and offline retail assets.