China Post backs ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing

Financial details were not disclosed. Didi said the two companies will consolidate their existing resources and cooperate in new business initiatives, according to Tencent QQ News.

Didi Chuxing was formed in 2015 through the merger of rival players Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache. The combined company then raised a $3 billion round, and its most recent round closed in June at $7.3 billion, which comprised $4.5 billion in equity and $2.8 billion in debt. Equity investors included Apple, a unit of China Life, Alibaba Group and its online financial services affiliate Ant Financial. Other existing backers such as Tencent Holdings, SoftBank and China Merchants Bank also took part. 

China Merchants Bank was also the arranger for a syndicated debt package worth $2.5 billion. An additional $304 million in long-term debt was provided by China Life.

Earlier this month, Didi announced it will acquire Uber's local operation, ending a costly battle between the two unprofitable businesses. Didi will take ownership of all Uber China's assets, including its brand, operations and database, creating a combined entity said to be worth $35 billion.

China Post Group owns the country's largest commercial bank, Postal Savings Bank of China. It currently has about 40,000 branches, offering micro-credit to small businesses and individual borrowers. In September last year, it purchased a minority stake in Ant Financial through its investment arm China Post Capital. A few months later, Ant Financial completed a $4.5 billion Series B round of funding, said to be the largest-ever fundraise by a private internet company globally at that time. The round reportedly valued the online finance company at $60 billion.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Technology
• Expansion
• Venture
• China
• TMT
• Transportation
• Growth capital