Ant Group Co.’s consumer finance affiliate is raising 4.5 billion yuan ($616 million) from investors, as the Jack Ma-backed fintech giant seeks to revive growth after regulators wrapped up a multi-year crackdown.
Ant Group will contribute 2.25 billion yuan to the plan while other investors include Sunny Optical Technology Group Co. and Transfar Zhilian Co., according to exchange filings on Thursday. The unit’s registered capital will increase to 23 billion yuan after the transaction, which is still pending regulatory approval.
The move comes after Chinese regulators ended an almost three-year long probe into the fintech giant by imposing a nearly $1 billion fine in July. Ma’s run-in with Beijing has cost his empire — including Ant and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. — billions of dollars in lost valuation, including what would have been the largest initial public offering in history.
The consumer finance unit combines Ant’s most lucrative online lending operations, Huabei and Jiebei. It has been crucial in driving growth at Ant’s digital finance business, which contributed 63% of the firm’s revenue in the first half of 2020 before the authorities unleashed a barrage of rules since late 2021.
