Meituan-Dianping acquires VC-backed Chinese payment player

The transaction will facilitate an exit for Qiandaibao's existing backers, including Banyan Capital, IDG Capital Partners, Haitong Securities and Jiangxi Copper, the largest copper producer in China. Following the acquisition, Meituan-Dianping will obtain a license from Qiandaibao to operate third-party payment services in the country.

Founded in 2008, Qiandaibao develops mobile payment processing devices that allow merchants to receive payments from customers via smart phone. It was one of the first companies in China to obtain a third-party payment license. Qiandaibao targets lower-tier cities with poor payment infrastructure, offering a POS system that supports bank cards, online payment apps, and some bank apps.

The company raised a round worth hundreds of million in renminbi from Banyan, IDG and others in 2014.

Meituan was set up in 2010 as a group-buying site, while Dianping established itself as a provider of restaurant reviews and group-buying service in 2003. Both subsequently pushed into other segments such as hotel reservations, movie ticket booking and food delivery.

In October of last year, Dianping and Meituan - both of which have received substantial private equity and strategic funding - agreed to merge. Three months later, the combined platform raised a $3.3 billion round from investors including Tencent Holdings, DST Global and Temasek Holdings. The round valued the company at $15 billion.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Technology
• Trade sale
• Financials
• China
• Banyan Capital
• IDG Capital Partners
• M&A
• Exit
• Venture