SoftBank, Alphabet Back China Truck Firm -- WSJ
April 24 2018 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
By Julie Steinberg and Liza Lin
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (April 24, 2018).
Japan's SoftBank Group Corp. and Alphabet Inc.'s late-stage
venture investment fund are among investors plowing close to $2
billion into a Chinese truck-hailing company, according to people
familiar with the investments.
Manbang Group, which runs a mobile app platform that matches
truck drivers with shippers looking to transport cargo, is raising
more money than it originally set out to fetch, according to these
people. The Wall Street Journal previously reported the company was
planning to raise between $500 million and $1 billion.
Manbang's previous backers have included internet giant Tencent
Holdings Ltd. and a private-equity firm co-founded by Chinese
billionaire Jack Ma.
The latest fundraising round, which is likely to be north of
$1.9 billion, would value Manbang at more than $6 billion,
according to the people familiar with the transaction.
Representatives from Manbang couldn't immediately be reached for
comment.
SoftBank is providing $1 billion of the fresh funds, the people
said. That investment will be made from SoftBank's Vision Fund, a
nearly $100 billion investment vehicle that has backed other
ride-hailing companies such as Uber Technologies Inc. and Didi
Chuxing Technology Co. in China.
Alphabet's CapitalG, which was founded in 2013 and used to be
known as Google Capital, is investing $30 million in the Chinese
company, the people said. The deal marks its first investment in
China since 2014, when it invested in Innolight Technology Ltd., a
Suzhou-based maker of high-speed optical communications
devices.
CapitalG describes itself as a growth-equity investment fund
whose goal is to "make return-driven investments in leading
companies around the world," according to its website. A person
familiar with the fund's strategy said it typically invests for
profit and not strategically for Google parent Alphabet.
Most of Google's services have been unavailable in China since
2010, when the U.S. technology company withdrew from the market due
to censorship concerns.
Since then, the company has been trying to make small steps to
re-enter the market. It launched an artificial intelligence lab in
China last December, and Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai has
visited the country at least twice in the past six months to speak
at Chinese forums.
Manbang, which is also known as Full Truck Alliance, is trying
to grow on the back of China's expanding logistics industry.
Besides matching shippers with truck drivers, the company also
provides vehicle loans, insurance and working capital to its
users.
Write to Julie Steinberg at julie.steinberg@wsj.com and Liza Lin
at Liza.Lin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 24, 2018 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
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