Koubei, the on-demand services provider launched by China-based e-commerce firm Alibaba, is set to raise up to $1.2bn from investors including private equity firm Silver Lake Management, Bloomberg has reported.
China Investment Corporation (CIC), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, is also set to take part in the round, as are Primavera Capital Group and CDH Investments, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg, adding that the round would value Koubei at $8bn.
Launched in June 2015 with $1bn of funding split between Alibaba and its financial services affiliate Ant Financial, Koubei operates an online platform that incorporates services such as ride ordering, restaurant booking, food delivery and event ticketing.
Koubei’s main competitor is Meituan-Dianping, which was formed through a merger in October 2015 and valued at $18.3bn as of January 2016.
The service allows businesses to operate their own online stores through its platform, and recorded $5bn of transactions through the Ant Financial-run Alipay in the quarter ending June 2016.
News of the oversubscribed round follows reports in October this year stating that Alibaba was seeking about $1bn at an $8bn valuation.