Ant Financial is in talks to raise at least $10 billion in a funding round that could value the Chinese internet giant controlled by Alibaba-founder Jack Ma at $150 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
Singaporean state investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte wants to be the lead investor in the financing for China’s largest internet financial services company ahead of a highly anticipated initial public offering, one of the people said, asking not to be named because the matter was private.
If the deal goes ahead, Ant would be the world’s largest fintech company and the biggest startup, backed by Chinese e-commerce titan Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. The company, in which Alibaba plans to acquire a one-third stake, controls the country’s premier mobile payments service and money market fund, and has moved deeper into areas from consumer lending to credit scoring. Its Alipay has been instrumental in driving Alibaba’s core business and is increasingly employed in physical stores around the world, shadowing the movements of Chinese tourists.
Alibaba shares were up 2.6% in premarket trading in New York to $174.20.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on Ant’s fundraising plan. If Ant gets its desired valuation, that would mark a major spike for an online behemoth valued at $75 billion just a few years ago by CLSA Ltd. Ant Financial and Temasek declined to comment.
Alibaba hasn’t held a stake in the owner of Alipay since Ma controversially spun out the business in 2011. Formally known as Zhejiang Ant Small & Micro Financial Services Group Co., Ant Financial is based in Hangzhou — Alibaba’s hometown. Alibaba vice chairman Joe Tsai has said Ant is profitable in its three key businesses of payments, wealth management and lending to consumers and small and medium-sized businesses.
The company is drumming up its presence overseas via investments into India’s Paytm and Thailand’s Ascend Money, an arm of the agriculture-to-telecommunications conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group.
Ant’s however had a string of recent setbacks, with its US expansion thwarted by the collapse of a deal for MoneyGram International Inc., while its Chinese business faces scrutiny from regulators and increased competition from Tencent Holdings Ltd., the social media behemoth that runs WeChat.
Source: Mint