Ule,an-ecommerce platform jointly established by state-backed China Post and TOM Group in 2010, reportedly secured $110 million of financing from unnamed investors at a valuation of $830 million (via Sina Tech).
After the investment, China Post’s stake in the joint venture reduced from 51% to 44.24%, but it is still the largest shareholder of Ule. TOM owns 42.51% stake in the company, down from 49% before the deal. The new investors will hold a combined 13.25% stake.
The website offers wide range of products including home goods, foods, infant and mother care, personal care, fashion and electronic goods etc. Ule has launched Youxnp, an e-commerce site for green agricultural products which target at high-end customers. It also has a dedicated channel for bulk purchase of government agencies and state-owned enterprises.
Different from other domestic e-commerce sites, which rely on third-party logistics services, Ule leverages the logistics resources of China Post, which has more than 50,000 post offices nationwide to provide offline delivery and sales services.
The strong logistic and warehouse capabilities of China Post and TOM Group’s technological support are the main reasons that attracting this capital injection, according to the company. The funding will be used to expand its mobile ecommerce business.
The transaction volume of Ule surged 175% YOY to 1.43 billion yuan ($231.93 million) by the end of 2013. Its repeat purchase rate reached 66% in the Q4 2013, while average price per order hit 448 yuan, higher than industry average, according to data released by the company.
