AAA Mobike pedals to $215m series D

Mobike pedals to $215m series D

China-based bicycle sharing startup Mobike has secured $215m in a series D round co-led by internet company Tencent and private equity firm Warburg Pincus, Reuters reported yesterday.

Online travel agency Ctrip and hospitality group Huazhu Hotels also took part in the round, as did private equity firm TPG Capital, hedge fund Hillhouse Capital and venture capital firm Sequoia Capital.

Mobike runs a bicycle sharing service that works along similar lines to ride hailing platforms like Uber or Didi Chuxing, allowing users to book bikes through an app. It concentrates on white collar workers, as opposed to rival Ofo, which caters to a core base of students.

The company is operational in nine Chinese cities and has a fleet of 100,000 bicycles in Shanghai alone. It aims to establish a fleet as big in every urban centre in the country and is also considering entry to the European market.

Tencent was already an investor in Mobike, providing an undisclosed amount of equity capital for the company in October 2016, which was added to more than $100m in series C funding it had closed the month before.

The initial series C funding was supplied by Warbug Pincus, Hillhouse, Sequoia, Qiming Venture Partners and private investor Wang Xing as well as, according to local media reports, media group Bertelsmann’s Bertelsmann Asia Investments unit, Joy Capital and Panda Capital.

Joy Capital and Panda Capital had previously invested $10m in Mobike in an August 2016 series B round.

Ma Huateng, chairman of Tencent, said in a statement: “Our investment in Mobike demonstrates our commitment to supporting the development of the sharing economy and smart cities in China.”

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