China’s Ucar raises $569m, files for NEEQ listing

The private placement was completed in mid-March and values the company at RMB28.7 billion, a filing showed. Several brokerages, who are the market makers on NEEQ, have subscribed to shares issued by Ucar, including China International Capital Corporation (CICC), CITIC Securities and Haitong International.

As part of the agreement, in February Alibaba Group agreed to buy RMB2.8 billion worth of shares via its onshore and offshore entities. However, it then transferred all the shares to Yunfeng at the same price. As such, Alibaba no longer holds an interest in Ucar, while Yunfeng owns approximately 10%.

Ucar's listing on the NEEQ, also known as the New Third Board, is pending regulatory approval.

Ucar, which operates under the Shenzhou Private Car brand, has a longstanding relationship with Chinese car rental firm China Auto Rental (CAR). It entered into a co-branding arrangement with the Hong Kong-listed company early last year, enabling it to rent CAR's vehicles under long-term contracts. Ucar provides car rental services through its mobile app and employs professional drivers to operate the leased vehicles.

Last July, Ucar raised a $250 million Series A round from Warburg Pincus, Legend Capital and CAR. Three months later, the investor group provided an additional $550 million.

Ucar recorded revenues of RMB1.7 billion last year, up from RMB460,000 in 2014. Its net loss widened to RMB3.7 billion in 2015 from $48.61 million in 2014. Earlier this week, the company announced the appointment of David Li, former managing director and head of China at Warburg Pincus, to join the company as vice chairman.

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