Linio, the Mexico-based e-commerce marketplace backed by retailer Tengelmann and conglomerate Access Industries, raised $55m yesterday.
The round was co-led by growth equity firm Liv Capital and alternative investment firm Northgate Capital, and included e-commerce investment firm Kinnevik.
Founded in 2012 and incubated by e-commerce holding company Rocket Internet, Linio operates a business-to-consumer e-commerce marketplace that spans eight Latin American countries including Argentina, Mexico, Colombia and Chile.
The company claims to have increased transaction volume 150% in each of the past three years, and will use the funding to expand, taking advantage of trends that involved online retail growing by 23% in Latin America in 2015.
Linio also intends to invest in strengthening its mobile offering, introducing new payments and logistics features, and improving its business. The round increased its overall funding to approximately $230m.
Tengelmann’s corporate venturing unit, Tengelmann Ventures, took part in a $50m round in 2013 alongside Rocket Internet, Kinnevik, JP Morgan Chase, Latin Idea Ventures and Summit Partners, before Access Industries and Northgate Capital provided $79m the following year.
Andreas Mjelde, co-founder and chief executive of Linio, said: “The new funding round reflects the progress we have made towards technical and operational excellence across all aspects of our business.
“Additionally, in an increasingly challenging fundraising environment, the capital raise highlights our attractive unit economics, which set the stage for sustainable growth in the years ahead.”