Carlyle, Tiger Global back China mobile classifieds site Ganji
The Carlyle Group and Tiger Global Management have invested $200 million in a further round of funding for Ganji.com, a Chinese mobile classifieds site.
The investment sum was confirmed by Ganji.com via a statement.
Carlyle will hold a minority stake in Ganji. Equity for the transaction came from Carlyle Asia Partners IV, the private equity firm's latest pan-regional fund, which has a target of $3.5 billion.
Established in 2005, Ganji provides classified ads across different service categories, including job recruitment, housing and local services, to over 350 cities in China. It connects small and medium-sized enterprises, real estate agents and merchants with online customers.
"Ganji.com is led by a seasoned management team and has established a strong market position in China's online marketplace with a proven business model," said Eric Zhang, managing director at Carlyle, in a statement.
He added the platform is well-positioned to benefit from the evolution of industry digitalization, high demand for online classifieds, and increasing internet and mobile internet user base in China.
Mark Yang, founder and CEO of the company, expects the private equity firm to contribute advanced internet management know-how. The new funding will be used to further develop the business, expand its merchant base and customer reach, strengthen marketing and channel management.
Ganji has previously raised $188 million across five rounds of financing. BlueRun Ventures initially invested $8 million in 2009 and returned to put an additional $20 million in 2010 with participation from Nokia Growth Partners. The following year Capital Today and Sequoia Capital pumped in a further $70 million.
CITIC PE, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and Macquarie Group also committed $90 million to the firm in 2012.
Ganji launched a short-term room rental website Mayi.com in 2011. Mayi attracted $10 million in Series A funding when it spun off from its parent last year. The round was led by VantagePoint with participation from BlueRun and Sequoia.
Ganji's competitor 58.com, backed by Warburg Pincus, SAIF Partners and DCM, raised $187 million in an US IPO last year.
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