Ofo pledges part of bicycle fleet to Alibaba affiliates
Ofo Inc has mortgaged part of its bicycle fleet to companies affiliated with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd to raise 1.76 billion yuan ($278 million), as the Chinese bike-sharing startup works hard to solve its reported cash crunch.
The first such mortgage deal in the bike-sharing sector highlights Ofo's heavy reliance on fundraising to maintain operations amid its mounting competition with Mobike Technology Co Ltd.
Ofo mortgaged roughly 4.45 million bikes in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen to a company, roughly translated as Shanghai Yunxin Entrepreneurship Investment Co Ltd, on Feb 5, according to National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System. Shanghai Yunxin's legal representative is Jing Xiandong, CEO of Alibaba's financial affiliate Ant Financial.
