China's Didi Chuxing raises $7.3b in equity, debt financing
Didi Chuxing, China’s leading ride-hailing app operator, has raised $7.3 billion in new funding, comprising $4.5 billion in equity and $2.8 billion in debt. The round is said to value the company in excess of $25 billion.
Several of the equity investors have already been disclosed: a unit of China Life Insurance contributed $300 million, while Apple invested $1 billion, and a further $400 million came from Alibaba Group and its affiliate Ant Financial. There are other new shareholders in the round, as well as existing backers such as Tencent Holdings, SoftBank and China Merchants Bank.
China Merchants Bank - which became an equity investor in the company last year - is also the arranger for a syndicated debt package worth $2.5 billion, according to a Didi statement cited by China Renaissance, the company's financial advisor on the deal. An additional RMB2 billion ($304 million) in long-term debt was provided by China Life.
The $4.5 billion in equity matches the Series B round closed in April by Ant Financial, which was said to be the largest-ever fundraise by a private internet company globally. Didi's previous round closed in September 2015 at $3 billion, with overall valuation topping $15 billion. This was the first fundraising effort since the company was formed earlier in 2015 through the merger of rival players Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache.
Didi claims to be the world's largest mobile travel platform, with 300 million registered users, nearly 15 million registered drivers and booking services that include but are not limited to taxis, limousines, shuttles, car-pooling, and designated drivers. Daily orders exceed 14 million and the company's share of the domestic market for private car-hailing stands at 87.3%, according to China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC).
The new capital will be used to improve Didi's technology platform, big data development and operations, enhance user experience, and further expand in domestic and foreign markets. It also means the company has $10.5 billion in cash to put to work in its battle with US-based rival Uber. Last month, Uber received $3.5 billion from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund and is said to be raising up to $2 billion in debt. The company has also raised capital for a dedicated China unit.
With a common interest to counter the Uber threat, Didi has forged a strategic global partnership with India's Ola, Southeast Asia's Grab and US-based Lyft to allow each company to use the others' services. In addition, it has made equity investments in all three of these counterparts. Some of Didi's investors, including China Life, are also backers of Uber.
More on Greater China
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.