Tencent, CICC co-lead $153m round for Chinese fresh produce supply chain firm

China’s Yonghui Fresh Food, the business-to-business platform for fresh produce of supermarkets chain operator Yonghui Superstores, raised about 1 billion yuan (US$153 million) in a round co-led by Tencent and China International Capital Corporation sub-fund CICC Qizhi.

Other investors include new backers China Merchants Bank, Minsheng Equity Investment Fund Management, and Greenwoods Investments, as well as existing investors Sequoia Capital, Hillhouse Capital, and parent firm Yonghui Superstores.

Photo credit: Pxhere

After the deal, Yonghui Supermarkets would still be the top shareholder in Yonghui Fresh Food with a 32.33% stake, according to a company filing. Following it is Hillhouse Capital with 26.8% and Sequoia Capital with 13.4%.

With its investment, Tencent would hold a 4% share in the company, while CICC takes 0.67%. China Merchant, Minsheng, and Greenwoods would hold a 0.4% equity stake each in the firm.

Founded in 2015, Yonghui Fresh Food operates a supply chain integration platform that is focused on fresh food and agricultural products. The company raised its series A round in 2018, securing 950 million yuan from its parent company, Hillhouse Capital, and Sequoia, among others.

For the first nine months of 2020, Yonghui Fresh Food said it raked in 3.08 billion yuan (US$471 million) in operating income, almost matching the 3.19 billion yuan (US$487 million) it generated for the full year of 2019. It also posted a net loss of 284.3 million yuan (US$43.5 million) for January through September this year, compared to its full-year 2019 losses of 369.8 million yuan (US$56.6 million).