China's version of Yelp files for IPO in Hong Kong
Meituan Dianping seeks billions of dollars to help fund its expansion, according to reports.
Describing itself as China's "leading e-commerce platform for services," Meituan does everything from food delivery to other lifestyle and travel services.
Meituan Dianping has officially filed for an initial public offering in Hong Kong, according to regulatory documents listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange Sunday, according to Reuters. Meituan is backed by Tencent, the owner of China's WhatsApp-equivalent WeChat and the first tech company in Asia to cross $500 billion in valuation last November.
The Yelp-like company follows in the footsteps of Xiaomi, the Chinese phone maker that sought to woo an IPO in the city last month. It also comes after Meituan bought bike sharing operator Mobike for a whopping $2.7 billion in April.
It didn't say how much it plans to raise but reports from Bloomberg and Reuters later citing unnamed sources suggest Meituan is targeting between $4 billion to $6 billion, along with a valuation of over $60 billion. The company was valued at around $30 billion last October and ranks among the world's top five most valuable startups, according to CB Insights.
It recorded 33.9 billion yuan (about $5.2 billion) in revenue last year -- up 161 percent from a previous year -- but Meituan also disclosed 2.85 billion yuan (around $438 million) in losses after accounting for adjustments, according to its filing.
CNET has reached out to Meituan for a comment.
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