China-based bicycle hire service Ofo today closed $450m in series D capital from a consortium that included ride sharing app provider Didi Chuxing, Bloomberg reported this morning.
The round was led by investment firm DST and also included Citic Private Equity, a subsidiary of investment management firm Citic Capital, Matrix Partners and Coatue Management. The deal values Ofo at more than $1bn.
Founded in 2014, Ofo operates an app that enables users to book bikes and unlock them through a code on their smartphones. The bicycles are tagged with GPS technology, making it possible to rent them from anywhere without the need for a central storage solution.
The company has not said what it intends to do with the cash, but it should go some way towards tackling its competition with Mobike – a battle that is driving down prices and has led to occasions when Ofo has not charged its users to increase market share.
Didi Chuxing previously contributed to a $130m series C round in October 2016 that also included Citic Private Equity, as well as Coatue, Matrix, Vision Plus Capital, GSR Ventures, angel investor Yuri Milner and, according to Shanghai Daily, smartphone maker Xiaomi.
Ofo has not released details about its previous funding rounds. Mobike, whose backers include internet company Tencent and contract manufacturer Foxconn, meanwhile has raised $300m itself this year.