China-based local services platform Meituan Dianping is in the process of raising about $3bn from investors including internet group Tencent and investment firm IDG Capital, China Money Network reported yesterday.
The round could value the company, which was formed by the $15bn merger of group buying service Meituan and local services platform Dianping in late 2015, at up to $30bn according to China Money Network, who cited people with close information (concerning) the matter.
Meituan Dianping operates as a diversified online service provider, offering access to food ordering, event ticketing and short-term accommodation among other consumer-focused services.
Reuters reported last month that Tencent was set to invest about $1bn in a round Meituan Dianping was lining up that would be sized at between $3bn and $5bn, at a valuation of $25bn to $30bn.
The proposed deal would come shortly after Tencent-backed online ticketing platform Weiying Technology agreed to merge some of its assets with Maoyan, the online ticket seller formed by Meituan in 2012. The corporates would own a combined 14% of the resulting company.
Tencent invested $1bn in Meituan Dianping as part of a $3.3bn round in January 2016 that included DST Global, TrustBridge Partners, China International Capital, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Baillie Gifford, CDB Kai Yuan Capital Management, Temasek and Capital Today.
The 2016 round, which valued Meituan Dianping at $18bn post-money, took the total raised by the company to $5.9bn, including cash secured pre-merger.
Tencent had been a Dianping backer since paying $500m for a 20% stake in 2014, and Dianping’s other investors included conglomerates Wanda and Fosun, smartphone producer Xiaomi, Temasek, FountainVest Partners, TrustBridge Partners, Sequoia Capital, Qiming Venture Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Meituan’s investors included e-commerce firm Alibaba, which divested its stake post-merger, as well as General Atlantic, Sequoia Capital, Hillhouse Capital, Fidelity Management and Research, Northern Light Venture Capital and Walden International.