China’s 58 Daojia merges with VC-backed beauty app

The two companies will continue to operate under their own brands following the deal, according to a statement obtained by local media. "The merger is an indication that O2O beauty service industry is moving towards consolidation," it said.

Founded in July 2014, Dudumeijia allows users to book beauticians for at-home nail-polishing appointments. Its services cover five Chinese cities including Shanghai, Beijing and Hangzhou. The start-up received seed funding from Plum Ventures and $10 million in a Series A round in October 2014 from Sequoia and Source Code.

Founded in September 2014, 58 Daojia is a subsidiary of US-listed Chinese classifieds site 58.com. It provides information on and access to offline services such as cleaning, moving, babysitting, beauty care in approximately 30 cities in China. Customers connect directly with nearby independent service providers who can travel to their homes.

Last year, the company received $300 million from KKR, Alibaba Group and Ping An, valuing the O2O unit at a post-investment, fully-diluted valuation of more than $1 billion.

Dudumeijia's competitors include Helijia, which has also received VC backing. The company started out focusing exclusively on manicure bookings, but has since broadened the scope of its services. In April last year, it received $50 million in Series C funding led by Qiming Venture Partners at a valuation of $300 million.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Technology
• Venture
• Consumer
• China
• Venture
• M&A
• KKR
• Sequoia Capital
• Alibaba Group
• Ping An
• Source Code Capital
• TMT