By Kane Wu and Julie Zhu
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Chinese truck services startup Full Truck Alliance has reached a valuation of nearly $12 billion after it raised $1.7 billion in a new funding round, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
The fundraising comes as the company is planning an offshore initial public offering as soon as next year, the sources said, with one of them adding the venue will likely be New York.
Full Truck Alliance, the result of a 2017 merger between truck services platforms Yunmanman and Huochebang, connects drivers with truck owners and their mutual client base.
The company on Tuesday announced the completion of the fundraising, led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund, Sequoia Capital, Permira and Fidelity.
Full Truck Alliance said its existing investors, including All-Stars Investment, GGV Capital, Hillhouse Capital Group, Tencent Holding and Yunfeng Capital also joined the funding round.
Full Truck Alliance did not immediately respond to Reuters queries on its valuation and IPO plan. The sources declined to be identified as the information is confidential.
The company said in a statement it plans to use the funds for technology, service and business model innovations.
The company now has over 10 million registered truck drivers and over 5 million truck owners on its platform, according to the statement.
Bloomberg News had earlier reported that the funding round at the Chinese company valued it at about $12 billion after investment.
(Reporting by Kane Wu and Julie Zhu in Hong Kong; additional reporting by Yilei Sun in Beijing; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)
