JD.com Leads $142 Million Investment in Elevator-Ad Firm Xinchao Media

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By Isabelle Li / Aug 09, 2019 04:02 AM / Business & Tech

Photo: VCG

JD.com, China’s second-largest e-commerce group, is leading a round of investment worth around 1 billion yuan ($142 million) in Xinchao Media Group, a company that places advertisements in elevators, JD.com said Thursday in a statement.

The Alibaba rival declined to comment to Caixin on how much it will invest and how many shares it will take. China Renaissance will be the sole financial adviser in the latest investment, according to the Thursday release. The announcement came just nine months after another Chinese tech giant, Baidu, led a $302 million investment in the elevator-ad company last November.

JD.com said it hopes the investment will lift its offline marketing and reach more users, according to the statement. Founded in 2007, Chengdu-based Xinchao now operates in more than 100 Chinese cities and owns 700,000 elevator screens that could reach as many as 200 million people in local communities, according to the statement.

The tie-up follows a similar deal between Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Focus Media, the sector leader which boasts 2 million elevator screens. Alibaba invested $1.43 billion for a 6.62% share in Focus Media in July 2018.

Contact reporter Isabelle Li (liyi@caixin.com)

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