Fenqile, a China-based e-commerce company backed by corporates Bertelsmann and JD.com, has received $235m in series C funding from a consortium co-led by an unnamed local insurance company, China Money Network reported today.
The round was co-led by Investment banking firm China Renaissance Partners, through its Huasheng Capital unit, and venture capital fund CoBuilder Partners. The round has not yet closed and the identity of all investors will reportedly be announced in the near future.
Founded in 2013, Fenqile has built an e-commerce platform that lets consumers in China pay for consumer electronics items through monthly instalments.
The fresh funding will be used to grow Fenqile’s user base beyond its current target audience of students to also include manual and office workers.
Fenqile previously raised an undisclosed amount from JD.com in March 2015, following a $100m series B round in December 2014 that featured media company Bertelsmann’s regional corporate venturing subsidiary, Bertelsmann Asia Investments.
The series B round was led by investment firm DST Global and included Matrix Partners China, China Renaissance and K2 Ventures. Fenqile had raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding April 2014 and $10m in a series A round, backed by Matrix, in August the same year.