China installment payment platform Qufenqi raises $100m
Qufenqi, a Chinese electronics retailer that allows buyers to pay in installments, has raised approximately $100 million in a new round led by Shenzhen-listed games developer Beijing Kunlun Tech.
According to a filing, Beijing Kunlun has acquired a 20% stake in Qufenqi for $50 million through its Hong Kong-based subsidiary Koram Games. The unit has also acquired a further 5.71% via VC firm Source Code Capital. Koram provided $12 million to a Source Code-managed fund last November, and that was used as the VC firm's commitment in Qufenqi's latest round, a separate filing showed.
Existing investor BlueRun Ventures also participated in the round, which valued the start-up at $250 million.
Launched in last March, Beijing-based Qufenqi targets college students, allowing them to purchase goods online and pay in installments. The company has partnerships with a dozen Chinese e-commerce operators. It covers more than 3,000 colleges and universities in 300 Chinese cities, reporting RMB622.8 million ($100 million) in transactions last year.
The start-up raised a Series B round of funding from Source Code Capital, Golden Summit and BlueRun in August last year, which came four months after the company raised a Series A round from BlueRun.
Qufenqi's main rival is Fenqile.com, which recently received funding from Chinese online retailer JD.com. Last December, the start-up scored $100 million in a Series B round led by DST Advisors. Other VC investors in the firm include Matrix Partners, China Renaissance K2 Ventures and Bertlesmann Asia Investment (BAI).
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