Ofo gears up with $700m of fresh funding

Chinese bike-sharing company Ofo Inc said on Thursday it has raised more than $700 million in a fresh round of financing to expand globally, as its faces rising competition from domestic rivals, chiefly Mobike Technology Co Ltd.

The new series E round of financing was led by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, Hony Capital and Citic Private Equity, the company said in a statement. Other backers include its former investors DST Global and ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing.

It is the biggest round of financing in the bike-sharing industry to date, surpassing Mobike's latest over $600 million round last month. Beijing-based Ofo had reportedly sought the new funding at a valuation of about $3 billion, which will help it more than triple its yellow bikes to 20 million in 200 cities globally by the end of this year.