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Investors include private equity funds All-Stars
Investment, DST Global, Hopu Investment Management, and Yunfeng
Capital, as well as Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, Chief
Executive Lei Jun said Monday on Weibo, confirming earlier media
reports.
The deal is one of the first high-profile scores for All-Stars,
a recently established fund headed by former Morgan Stanley tech
analyst Richard Ji. It also strengthens ties between Lei and
fellow tech magnate Jack Ma, the Alibaba Group Holding Ltd
executive chairman who invests privately through his Yunfeng
Capital fund.
Industry sales data from recent quarters show Xiaomi has risen
in just three years to become the world's No. 3 smartphone maker
- behind only Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Apple Inc - and the
latest round of investment enforces its standing as one of the
world's most valuable private companies.
At $45 billion, Xiaomi is now worth nearly three times the
market capitalization of Lenovo Group Ltd, the world's No. 1 PC
maker, and more than quadruple the $10 billion valuation it
garnered during its last financing round in 2013.
Xiaomi's skyrocketing valuation reflects investors' belief that
it will grow into a global powerhouse despite signs it is
encountering intellectual property challenges outside China.
This month sales in India were temporarily halted after Swedish
telecommunciations firm Ericsson filed a patent complaint.
Xiaomi brands itself as an Internet company that eschews
traditional marketing and sells hardware at low prices as a
distribution channel for its real money maker - software and
services.
It has been investing heavily in other manufacturers with the
aim of building an ecosystem of Internet-connected devices and
appliances to extend its reach beyond smartphones.
Other Xiaomi backers include Singapore sovereign wealth fund
Temasek Holdings Pte, Qiming Venture Partners, Morningside
Venture Capital and DST, the Russian tech fund that has also
taken pre-IPO stakes in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, Indian
e-commerce giant Flipkart and Facebook Inc.
(Reporting by Gerry Shih; Editing by Sunil Nair)
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