Ant Financial plans equity fundraising at potential US$100 billion valuation
A fundraising would bring Ant a step closer to a hotly anticipated initial public offering by establishing a more current valuation.
China’s Ant Financial Services Group is planning to raise up to US$5 billion in fresh equity that could value the online payments giant at more than US$100 billion, people familiar with the move said.A fundraising would bring Ant, in which e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding is taking a one-third stake, a step closer to a hotly anticipated initial public offering by establishing a more current valuation.
Ant’s last fundraising in 2016 valued the owner of Alipay, China’s top online payment platform, at about US$60 billion. The new round should start with a valuation of between US$80 billion to US$100 billion, the people said.
Ant is currently in talks to appoint advisers for the fundraising which is expected to be launched in the next couple of months, they added.
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