Jul 7, 2017

China: Yunfeng backs Yao123’s $17m round, BAI funds Zaozuo; Qiming leads $29m round in drug developer Photo: Reuters By Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc July 7, 2017 Private equity firm Yunfeng Capital, backed by e-commerce billionaire Jack Ma, has co-led a $17-million Series A round in online drug retailer Yao123.com, while Zaozuo, China’s version of IKEA, has secured $20 million in funding from Bertelsmann Asia Investments and others. Jack Ma’s PE fund co-leads online drug retailer Yao123.com’s Series A Yunfeng Capital, a private equity firm founded by Alibaba Group’s Jack Ma and Chinese entrepreneur David Yu, and Lang Sheng Investment have co-led a RMB120 million ($17 million) Series A round in Chinese online drug store Yao123.com, according to a report by the China Money Network. Yao123.com is backed by state-owned China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm). The retailer will use the funds to expand its retail and distribution channels. Founded in 2015, Yao123.com acts as the e-commerce platform for its parent firm. The company has reportedly integrated over 30 drug retailers and distribution firms under Sinopharm through its portal. It boasted of total transaction value of RMB600 million ($88 million) during the last 12 months. Meanwhile, Alibaba Health Information Technology Ltd, the healthcare service unit of the e-commerce giant, has been facing challenges in the online drug retail market as China does not allow pharmacies or third-party platforms such as Alibaba’s Tmall to sell prescription drugs online, according to China Money Network. Alibaba has been connecting people who want to buy medicines online to the closest offline pharmacy and arranging for pick-up or delivery. BAI Fund, others invest $20 million in IKEA-like retailer Zaozuo China-based Bertelsmann Asia Investments (BAI) has led a $20 million Series B round in Beijing-based furniture provider Zaozuo. Existing investors Morningside Venture Capital, IDG Capital and Vision Plus Capital, as well as Zhen Fund and Tiger Cub Funds also participated in the round, the China Money Network reported . The Asia strategic investment arm of German multinational group Bertelsmann was earlier also an investor in Zaozuo’s $15 million Series A round. Founded in 2014, Zaozuo currently operates retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai, and provides delivery services in 158 cities in China. The company reportedly has average monthly revenue of over tens of millions of Chinese yuan, and is expected to achieve RMB200 million ($29 million) in this year’s revenue. Its products, ranging from sofas, tables, to beds and lamps, are targeted at high-end consumers. Qiming leads $29m Series A in Sino Biological Venture capital firm Qiming Venture Partners has led an RMB200 million ($29 million) Series A round in Beijing-based antibody drug developer Sino Biological, the China Money Network reported citing a company statement. Founded in 2007, Sino Biological offers a comprehensive set of premium quality reagents, which are produced in-house and cover a broad range of life science research and drug development. It also provides one-stop services for protein and antibody discovery, research, development, production and commercialisation. The company claims to develop 800 to 1,000 types of recombinant protein and 1,500 types of antibody every year. It has also provided services to universities, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and inspection agencies in over 90 countries.