VC-backed JD.com targets $1.5b US IPO
Chinese online retailer JD.com, which has received $1.7 billion in venture capital and private equity funding in the last two years, is seeking to raise up to $1.5 billion through a US IPO.
According to a regulatory filing, the company - formerly known as 360buy or Jindong.com - has hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch and UBS to work on the offering. Terms have yet to be announced.
With 35.8 million active customer accounts, the Beijing-based company claims to be the country's second-largest B2C e-commerce company in China, with a 17.5% market share based on transaction volume in the third quarter last year. Unlike other B2C retailers which rely heavily on third-party logistic operators, JD.com has invested in self-supported delivery services.
The company raised $400 million through a Series F round of funding led by Kingdom Holding, an investment company controlled by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a Saudi Arabian billionaire, in February 2013.
The commitment came barely three months after Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and Tiger Global invested $400 million and nearly two years after DST Advisors and led a consortium that put in $1 billion.
Early investors in the company included Capital Today, Luminary Capital and Bull Capital Partners.
The filing shows Kingdom Holding owns 5% of the company, while Tiger Global holds 22.1%. DST, Capital Today and Sequoia Capital have 11.2%, 9.5% and 2%, respectively.
Founded in 2004, JD.com posted RMB49.2 billion ($8 billion) in revenue in the first nine months of 2013, up from RMB28.8 billion during the same period in 2012. It reported a net profit of RMB60 million in the first nine months last year, compared to net loss of RMB1.4 billion in 2012.
The company plans to use the proceeds to acquire more land rights, build new warehouses, expand its distribution and acquire complementary business, assets and technologies.
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