According to TapTechNews on June 5, citing informed sources by The Information, sources close to the deal revealed that ByteDance is raising $700 million to $800 million for its automotive information and trading platform, 'Dongchedi', in preparation for the IPO of this department. This move indicates that ByteDance is planning to divest non-core businesses and abandon the previous unsuccessful diversification attempts.
Sources said that ByteDance presented the fundraising plan to a small number of existing shareholders, among which Sequoia Capital China Fund led this round of financing and is proposed to invest $400 million to $500 million. Another source said that ByteDance's investors, KKR and General Atlantic, will also participate in this round of financing.
Informed sources stated that after the completion of this round of financing, the valuation of 'Dongchedi' may reach $3 billion (TapTechNews note: Currently about 21.72 billion Chinese yuan), which is comparable to its competitor 'Autohome' that has already been listed on US and Hong Kong stocks.