Internet group Tencent led a $4bn round for China-based online services provider Meituan-Dianping today that valued the latter at $30bn according to Reuters.
Travel services provider Priceline Group also participated in the round, as did the Singaporean state-owned GIC, Sequoia Capital, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Trustbridge Partners, Coatue Management, IDG Capital, Tiger Global Management and China-UAE Investment Cooperation Fund.
Meituan-Dianping runs a local services and e-commerce platform that processes about 21 million orders each day, for items such as food, event tickets and flights, connecting 280 million customers each year with a network of some 5 million local businesses.
The company will use the funding to continue growing its four key business areas: in-store dining, lifestyle and entertainment, on-demand delivery, and travel and leisure. It also plans to boost its technology capabilities and move into new verticals, though it declined to say what those would be.
Tencent has been a long-term investor in the company, having paid up to $500m for a 20% stake in local reviews platform Dianping in 2014, before taking part in its $850m series E round the following year, at a $4bn valuation.
Dianping merged with group buying platform Meituan in late 2015, and Tencent has continued as an investor and strategic partner, helping it to grow in China. It is reportedly set to be one of the partners in a $435m corporate venturing fund Meituan-Dianping intends to form.
Tencent president Martin Lau said: “We are glad to continue providing Meituan-Dianping with both strategic and financial support as it fulfils its vision of transforming China’s food and lifestyle services industry.
“The company is executing smoothly and at scale across multiple categories, is providing convenience and value to consumers, and is contributing to a healthy and diversified China internet ecosystem.”
Priceline’s contribution to the round was made alongside the signing of a commercial partnership agreement between its accommodation booking subsidiary, Agoda.com, and Meituan-Dianping’s travel and leisure platform, Meituan Travel.
Todd Henrich, Priceline’s global head of corporate development, said: “We are excited to support Meituan-Dianping, the well-recognised leader in China’s local services industry.
“Our commercial relationship between Agoda.com and Meituan-Dianping will help each company benefit from the other’s expertise and capitalise on the opportunities presented by China’s exceptionally large travel market.”