Local services platform Meituan-Dianping has agreed to purchase China-based bike rental service Mobike for $2.7bn, according to TechCrunch.
The transaction was initially reported by Caixin. Several Chinese media reports had suggested Meituan-Dianping was going to pay $3.7bn, but Caixin cited an unnamed source as saying that the figure is incorrect.
The transaction was reportedly being brokered by Pony Ma, chief executive of Tencent, which also owns a stake in Meituan-Dianping.
Founded in 2015, Mobike operates an app-based, dockless bike sharing service that has attracted hundreds of millions of registered users. The company entered its 200th market in January 2018 when it launched its service in Paris.
The latest news follows an attempted merger of Mobike with its rival Ofo, which fell apart in November 2017 over both startups’ management refusing to give Didi Chuxing, the ride hailing app developer that has backed Ofo, a greater degree of control.
Mobike was previously rumoured to have raised $1bn in funding from unnamed investors in January 2018, though that deal never closed, according to China Money Network, which lists a $600m series E in June 2017 as Mobike’s last round.
The series E round was led by Tencent and featured financial services firms Bocom International and ICBC International, Farallon Capital, Hillhouse Capital, Sequoia Capital and TPG. It brought Mobike’s total equity to more than $1bn.
Tencent had already co-led a $215m series D round in January 2017 with Warburg Pincus. The round also included travel services provider Ctrip, hospitality chain Huazhu Hotels, Sequoia, Hillhouse and TPG.
Contract manufacturer Foxconn, Hillhouse and Temasek, the Singapore state-owned investment firm, added $85m the following month.
Earlier investors included Bertelsmann Asia Investments, the local investment arm of media conglomerate Bertelsmann, Joy Capital and Panda Capital, Warburg Pincus, Qiming Venture Partners and private investor Wang Xing.
– This article was updated on April 4 to reflect an updated figure for the deal, first reported by TechCrunch, which also revealed that Meituan-Dianping was acquiring Mobike.