Meituan Rumored to IPO at $60B Valuation in Hong Kong

Tencent-backed Chinese Internet giant Meituan-Dianping is seeking to go public in Hong Kong at an evaluation of $60 billion. According to The Information, it is reported that Wang Xing, CEO of Meituan, was in Hong Kong tapping several banks for listing details.

SEE ALSO: Meituan Acquires Mobike, One of the World’s Largest Bike-Sharing Companies

The result of a $15 billion merger between the Groupon-alike Meituan and the Yelp-alike Dianping, Meituan-Dianping now covers a much broader business scope and is branded as a “super app”. They offer services from food delivery, group buying, ride-hailing, movie tickets sales to travelling packages and payment – basically every handy lifestyle service you could think of. In April this year, Meituan also announced its acquisition of Mobike, China’s bike-sharing giant at US$2.7 billion.

Yet, other than the growing rivalry with Alibaba-backed Ele.me in its original battlefield of food delivery, Meituan faces heads-on competition in strategic new business like the transportation and travel. Their competitors are market leaders like ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing and Baidu-backed travel operator Ctrip, both among China’s most highly valued companies.

It is not the first time Meituan is rumored to seek a initial public listing this year. Earlier this March, Bloomberg reported that Meituan intends to file an IPO as soon as this year and weighed an evaluation of at least US$60 billion. The rumor was subsequently denied by the company. We have yet to hear an official response on this latest rumor.

In October last year, Meituan-Dianping raised $4 billion in a Tencent-led funding round that valued it at $30 billion. Other notable backers include Sequoia Capital, Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC and Tiger Global Management.

If the IPO rumor holds true this time, the money will be used for expansion of the company’s ride-hailing service, as well as its planned acquisition moves at home and abroad.