CR Capital joins Series E for China's Newlinks
CR Capital Management, an investment arm of China Resources Group, is backing Newlink Group, operator of a platform that helps drivers locate the best value gas stations and charging piles, as part of the company's Series E round.
The round amounts to several hundred million US dollars, according to a statement. Newlink raised CNY 2bn (USD 308m) led by China Merchants Capital in August 2021. This followed tranches of USD 200m and USD 100m, led by Bain Capital Private Equity and CMB International, respectively, earlier in the year.
The company, launched in 2016, has two core products: Tuanyou, which specializes in fossil fuels and is linked to more than 23,000 gas stations (20% of China's total); and Kuaidian, which focuses on electric vehicle charging and is linked to 700,000 charging piles (90% of the national total).
In addition, there is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that digitalises partner gas and charging stations. This is intended to help drive incremental sales, reduce procurement costs, and streamline operations.
Newlink claims to serve over 10,000 corporate customers, including SF Express, ZTO Express, Lalamove, China Merchants Bank, and Xiaomi.
The company has a logistics unit as well, which has raised funding separately. It connects refineries, chemical plants, oil depots, and petrol stations to realize one-click oil ordering and transportation.
Newlink is also looking to convert independent gas stations into Newlink-branded comprehensive consumption hubs that offer refuelling, charging and swapping services, convenience stores, maintenance, and catering. KFC opened at a Beijing branch in August last year.
Newlink claims to have saved billions of renminbi for its users, especially commercial vehicle drivers, in fuel and electricity bills. Its annualized gross merchandise value is more than CNY 100bn, up from CNY 50bn at the end of 2019.
Newlink secured CNY 900m in Series D funding in July 2020 with CICC taking the lead. This followed two rounds - of CNY 450m and USD 110m - in 2019. Also in 2019, GSR United took part in an undesignated round of CNY 275m.
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