Ant Financial, e-commerce group Alibaba’s financial services affiliate, has co-led a funding round sized at almost RMB4bn ($582m) for Hello TransTech, the China-based operator of bicycle rental service Hellobike, Jiemian has reported.
The round was co-led by investment firm Primavera Capital Group and included undisclosed existing investors. A Hello TransTech spokesperson confirmed the details to Technode.
Hellobike is an app-based bicycle sharing platform used some 24 million times each day across more than 300 Chinese cities. It focuses on second and third-tier Chinese cities and is considering an expansion into adjacent sectors such as car sharing or ride hailing, according to Technode.
The company’s approach is interesting in that it differs to that of rivals Mobike and Ofo, both of which have raised large amounts of funding targeting the country’s largest cities as well as international expansion, but which have each run into difficulties of late.
Ofo has pulled out of most of its markets outside China amid serious financial issues and more than 12 million users have requested refunds. It has reportedly also vacated its office in Singapore, where partners are demanding hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid bills.
Mobike may have been acquired by local services platform Meituan Dianping in April this year, but its founder Hu Weiwei resigned as chief executive just over a week ago, and it is reportedly looking to spin out its European business at a $100m valuation.
Ant Financial invested $321m in Hellobike in June this year at a $1.47bn valuation, increasing its stake to 36% in the process. The deal came two months after the corporate joined diversified conglomerate Fosun for Hellobike’s $700m series E1 round.
GGV Capital and Chengwei Capital had invested undisclosed sums in the company before electric vehicle producer WM Motor provided a nine-figure renminbi amount of funding in July 2017.
Hellobike subsequently closed a $503m series D round in December 2017 featuring Ant Financial, WM Motor, Chengwei Capital, GGV Capital and Fosun Capital, an investment vehicle for Fosun.
