China O2O player buys VC-backed last-mile delivery app

Beequick will maintain its independent brand and operations after the investment, according to a release. The two companies will combine resources and leverage individual core competencies, with a view to improving customer experience.

Huimin was founded in Zhongguancun Science Park, a technology hub in Beijing, in 2013. It started out as an online B2C platform, enabling Chinese consumers to order daily household items from small-scale supermarkets in their neighborhoods. 

After two years, with no profits and a high cash-burn rate, Huimin shifted to a B2B model, serving as a commercial logistics provider. By grouping together small supermarkets to source goods from wholesalers, it was able to buy in and so gets better prices. The company now works with nearly 400,000 supermarkets across more than 22 provinces and municipalities.

Huimin raised $100 million in a Series A round led by Shenzhen-based Fortune Capital in 2015. Last year, it received a RMB1.3 billion ($195 million) Series B from a group of renminbi fund managers.

Beijing-based Beequick was founded in 2014. It focuses on the last-mile delivery services, shipping snacks, beverages, liquor and fruit supplied by convenience stores. The company guarantees to make deliveries within an hour of orders being placed.

It has received several rounds of funding, including a $20 million Series A led by Sequoia Capital, and a $20 million Series B round led by Hillhouse Capital in 2014. A year later, it completed a $70 million Series C round involving Hillhouse, Eastern Bell Venture Capital, Tiantu Capital and Sequoia.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Greater China
• Consumer
• Technology
• Trade sale
• China
• TMT
• Venture
• M&A
• Citic Private Equity
• Sequoia Capital
• Fosun Group
• Hillhouse Capital Management
• Tiantu Capital