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Deepti Sri · · 1 min readFounder of SoftBank-backed Chinese startup Beike passes away
“KE Holdings, owner of Beike, a leading integrated online and offline platform for housing transactions and services, announced that Zuo Hui, the founder and chairman of the board of directors of the company, passed away on May 20, 2021,” Pandaily reported.
Details:
- Hui, who launched Beijing Lianjia Real Estate Brokerage in 2001, passed away as a result of “an unexpected worsening of illness.”
- The company is expected to make an announcement on corporate governance and related matters within the next two weeks.
Context:
- Beike was founded in April 2018 after real estate brokerage Lianjia, which was already dominant in large cities such as Beijing, refocused and rebranded its online business to connect property agents and property seekers across the country through its platform.
- In November 2019, SoftBank invested over US$1.3 billion in Beike. After the Chinese proptech startup went public in August last year, the value of SoftBank’s stake was estimated to have risen to US$6.4 billion, giving it a 375% return.
Editing by Collin Furtado and Jaclyn Tiu
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