SoftBank-backed Chinese apartment rental startup Ziroom acquires its rival

Ziroom, a China-based apartment rental platform, announced on its Weibo account that it has acquired Besbond, a provider of boutique long-term apartment rental services for the youth.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Photo credit: Besbond

Besbond was founded in 2014 and manages over 6,000 apartments in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities in China, targeting white-collar workers. In 2017, the startup raised 125 million yuan (roughly US$19 million) in a series B round from Everyday Network, which valued the company at 625 million yuan (about US$95.1 million).

With the acquisition, Ziroom will go on to operate its centralized apartment program in over 50 cities in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, among others, according to a local report.

Meanwhile, the company launched its first integrated rental community in Guangzhou called Ziruli. The entity owns more than 1,500 apartments, 500 of which are now available to be rented and with 97% of them already leased.

Last year, Ziroom raised 4 billion yuan (US$608.7 million) in a series A round led by Warburg Pincus, Sequoia Capital China, and Tencent, as well as a US$500 million series B round led by General Atlantic. This was followed by a US$1 billion investment from SoftBank in November 2019.

The company is up against players like Danke Apartment, which raised US$130 million in its US listing in January, and SoftBank-backed Beike Zhaofang, which raised US$2.1 billion in a US initial public offering in August.

Currency converted from Chinese yuan to US dollar: US$1 = 6.57 yuan.