Tencent's WeDoctor closes fund-raising round, valued at $5.5 bln

Ping An Healthcare and Technology Co

09/05/2018 03:12

SHANGHAI, May 9 (Reuters) - Chinese online healthcare
solutions platform WeDoctor, which is backed by tech giant
Tencent Holdings Ltd  0700.HK , said on Wednesday it had raised
$500 million at a valuation of $5.5 billion ahead of a listing
this year.
    The investment round was led by AIA Company Ltd, part of
Hong Kong-listed insurer AIA Group Ltd  1299.HK , and
infrastructure and services group NWS Holdings Ltd  0659.HK .
    Founded in 2010, WeDoctor provides diagnosis and online
appointment booking. Users can also consult doctors through the
platform.
    The pre-IPO fund raising comes after rival Ping An Good
Doctor, formally known as Ping An Healthcare and Technology Co
Ltd  1833.HK , raised $1.1 billion in an IPO this month but saw
its shares tumble soon after as investors worried about its high
valuation.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1SE29D
    WeDoctor is among a spate of technology-driven firms looking
to shake up China's overburdened public healthcare market, with
increasingly affluent consumers eager for ways to get more
convenient access to doctors and health services.
    The firm said it would use the funds to accelerate its
expansion plans, helping it better tap into the country's 
"flourishing and enormous market".
    WeDoctor, which has four main units focused on healthcare,
cloud, insurance and pharmaceuticals, said it has on its
platform over 2,700 hospitals, 220,000 doctors, 15,000
pharmacies and 27 million monthly active users.


 (Reporting by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
 ((adam.jourdan@thomsonreuters.com; +86 21 6104 1778; Reuters
Messaging: adam.jourdan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))