Ant Financial Services, a China-based payment services provider spun out of e-commerce company Alibaba, has secured an undisclosed amount of funding at a $45bn valuation, Reuters reported yesterday.
China Development Bank Capital and a holding firm affiliated with David Yu, who co-founded Yunfeng Capital with Jack Ma, executive chairman of Alibaba.
Chinese pension fund National Social Security Fund also took part, purchasing a 5% stake in Ant. External investors now hold a combined 12.4% stake in the company.
Ant Financial operates Alipay, an online payments processing service, and was spun out of Alibaba in 2011, ahead of the e-commerce company’s $25bn initial public offering.
In February 2015, Ant Financial was reported to be seeking a $4bn investment at a $40bn valuation. At the time, the company also revealed it was preparing for an IPO in 2017.