Telecommunications firm SoftBank is considering making an investment of up to $1bn in China-based courier and delivery services marketplace Manbang Group through its Vision Fund, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.
Also known as Full Truck Alliance, Manbang operates an online platform where users with goods to deliver can connect to truck drivers with surplus space in their vehicles. It also offers insurance, vehicle financing and working capital loans to operators in its platform.
The company was formed when peers Huochebang and Yunmanman merged in November 2017 to create a $2bn business. It has registered some 4 million truck owners and roughly 1 million exporters to the platform.
Manbang is seeking between $500m and $1bn in funds to help it expand in it home country, and a $500m investment would value it at about $5bn, people familiar with the matter told the WSJ.
Huochebang had raised more than $260m prior to the merger and its backers included internet groups Tencent, which first invested to lead a series A+ round of undisclosed size in 2015, and Baidu, which co-led its $156m series B-2 round in May 2017 through its Baidu Capital unit.
Investment firm All-Stars Investment, investment banking firm Genesis Capital, venture capital firm DCM Ventures, the World Bank-owned International Finance Corporation and Zhongding Capital were also investors in Huochebang.
Yunmanman had raised at least $275m and its investors included private equity firm Yunfeng Capital, hedge fund manager Tiger Management and VC firms Lightspeed Venture Partners and Sequoia Capital China.