China-based Womai.com has confirmed a $220m series C round led by Taikang Life Insurance Company, China Money Network reported today.
Reports last week stated the round, which also included internet company Baidu and two undisclosed China-based private equity firms, was sized at $200m, but they appear to have been made prematurely. Baidu invested $20m in the round, according to specialist online news site Fruitnet.
Founded by the state-owned China’s National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation (COFCO) in 2009, Womai operates an online e-commerce platform that sells groceries, many of them imported from overseas.
Taikang and Baidu are both set to form strategic partnerships with Womai in conjunction with their investments.
Baidu will look to cooperate with Womai through its online food delivery service Baidu Waimai while, in what may not be the best advertisement for Womai, Taikang is considering offering food safety-related insurance to the platform’s customers.
The series C round comes after IDG Capital Partners, which acts as a corporate venturing affiliate of media and data company International Data Group, led a $100m round for Womai in August 2014.
The series B round also included SAIF Partners, the venture capital fund that invested an eight-figure dollar sum in Womai in 2012.