Apoorv Anupam
08 June 2018, India:
Ant Financial has raised $14 billion in Series C round of funding. Global institutional investors including GIC, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Warburg Pincus, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Silver Lake, Temasek, General Atlantic, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., The Carlyle Group, Janchor Partners, Discovery Capital Management, Baillie Gifford, and Primavera Capital participated in the funding round.
The company will use the fresh capital to accelerate Alipay’s globalization plans and invest in developing technology to further enhance the Company’s ability to deliver inclusive financial services to unbanked and underbanked consumers and small enterprises globally. The company will also use the capital to cultivate high-tech talent in emerging markets to help communities take advantage of the opportunities arising from digital transformation, the company said in a press release.
“We are pleased to welcome these investors as partners, who share our vision and mission, to embark on our journey to further promote inclusive finance globally and bring equal opportunities to the world. We are proud of, and inspired by, the transformation we have affected in the lives of ordinary people and small businesses over the past 14 years. Now, with the help of our partners, we are going to accelerate our strategy,” said Eric Jing, Executive Chairman and CEO of Ant Financial.
Eric Jing added, “We are dedicated to building an open ecosystem with all our partners in China and beyond. We will continue to invest in technology and innovation in order to serve unmet financial needs of people everywhere and to enable them to benefit from the development of the digital economy.”
Deutsche Bank, Citi, China International Capital Corporation, CITIC Securities, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisors to Ant Financial and Ant International for the Series C equity financing. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and King & Wood Mallesons acted as legal advisors to Ant Financial and Ant International, while Sullivan & Cromwell LLP acted as legal advisor to the financial advisors.
(Source – Press Release, Image – StartupWorld)