Internet group Tencent has invested almost $80m in China-based alcohol e-commerce platform Yijiupi, 36Kr reported today.
Yijiupi operates an online platform where businesses can buy and sell alcoholic beverages and, increasingly, other consumer products. It has a presence in some 140 prefecture-level cities across 26 Chinese provinces, according to 36Kr.
The round boosted the company’s overall funding to more than $516m since it was founded in 2014, $100m of which came in the form of a series D-plus investment by private equity firm Warburg Pincus in March this year.
Tencent has been an investor in Yijiupi since September 2018 when it joined local services platform Meituan Dianping, venture capital firm Source Code Capital and investment manager China Everbright to provide $200m in series D funding at a $1.1bn valuation.
Hedge fund manager Greenwoods Asset had led the company’s $100m series C round in 2016, investing alongside Meituan Dianping, Source Code Capital, private equity firm HG Capital and investment firm Lighthouse Capital.
Yijiupi had previously received $29m in a 2015 series B round featuring Source Code Capital and Bertelsmann Asia Investments, a corporate venturing vehicle for media group Bertelsmann. It followed $7.5m in series A funding from Source Code in 2014.
