Rumor: Alibaba to Invest USD 1.5 Bln in Takeout Delivery Platform Ele.me
DoNews, 11/23/15
Chinese e-commerce conglomerate Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA) will invest USD 1.5 bln in online takeout delivery platform Ele.me, which would make Alibaba the company's largest shareholder with a 30% stake, reports a source familiar with the matter. The new funding would give Ele.me a post-investment valuation of USD 4.9 bln. Both companies declined to comment on the matter.
The source said that both companies have been discussing funding, but no agreement has been formalized. The possibility also exists that Ele.me will join forces with the new merger between Chinese online ratings and group buy sites Dianping and Meituan, as Dianping has an undisclosed stake in Ele.me. Prior to Dianping's merger with Meituan, Dianping had invested USD 80 mln in Ele.me in May 2014, and an undisclosed amount in January 2015.
After the Meituan-Dianping merger, Zhang Xuhao, CEO of Ele.me, said that the company would not join the aforementioned merger and would continue to maintain a competitive relationship with Meituan and other food delivery companies.
Editor's Note: For more information on this topic, please see "Meituan, Dianping to Merge without Ele.me," MD 10/10/15, "Update: Tencent, JD.com Invest in Food Ordering Site Ele.me's Series E," MD 1/27/15 and "Update: Dianping Invests USD 80 Mln in Ele.me," MD 5/06/14 issues.
Keywords: e-commerce Internet funding valuation Dianping Meituan Alibaba Group online ratings Ele.me Zhang Xuhao BABA M&A food O2O wireless
Sending
