Led by Broadline Capital with Additional Capital Raised through UBS Investment Bank
Doubles the Cumulative Number of Marketplace Loans to 2.5 Million
By: Jill Posnick
Posted: Jul 27, 2015
Original source: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150727005638/en/China-Rapid-Finance-Raises-Initial-Series-Financing#.VbfWnflVhBd
SHANGHAI-(BUSINESS WIRE)-China Rapid Finance, China’s largest online consumer lending marketplace serving online users and China’s emerging middle class,1 today announced an initial closing of US$35 million in its Series C round of financing at a pre-money valuation of US $1 billion. The round was led by Broadline Capital, a global private equity firm, and joined by a prominent global family office through UBS Investment Bank as well as other investors.
“We welcome the substantial financial and strategic support of Broadline Capital and our other investors – new and old”
“We welcome the substantial financial and strategic support of Broadline Capital and our other investors – new and old,” stated Zane Wang, PhD, Founder and CEO of China Rapid Finance. “There are an estimated 500 million consumers in China who are economically active but never have had access to bank credit. This latest funding will be used to pursue our goal of socially inclusive finance by accelerating the expansion of our online consumer lending marketplace to the most creditworthy individuals.”
“Over the past year, China Rapid Finance has pioneered an end-to-end automated, mobile-based lending service designed to revolutionize the Chinese consumer lending industry and facilitate credit access to China’s vastly untapped market – an estimated 500 million creditworthy people. To date, more than 2.5 million cumulative loans have been achieved, doubling in the last three months. Our robust growth was achieved with significantly low borrower acquisition costs, demonstrating both the exceedingly strong demand for our services as well as the unique scalability of our marketplace offering,” continued Dr. Wang.
In February, the company partnered with Tencent, one of the largest Internet companies in the world, to introduce the first-ever pre-approved loans to pre-screened users on its ubiquitous social platforms. The recent funding will allow China Rapid Finance to spread the reach of its marketplace and attract more potential borrowers, including through strategic partnerships with multiple consumer data sources including leading Chinese Internet companies, potentially adding hundreds of millions of candidates for our service.
Christopher Thorne, Founder and Chairman of Broadline Capital, commented, “We are pleased to lead this pivotal financing round and further fuel the growth of China Rapid Finance. Broadline Capital is dedicated to collaborating with leading innovators like CEO Zane Wang – companies and entrepreneurs who revolutionize industries and become either category leaders or category creators. In the case of China Rapid Finance, Zane Wang and his team have created a unique marketplace to address the burgeoning consumer credit demands of China’s emerging middle class – the world’s largest untapped market.”
UBS Investment Bank acted as placement agent for China Rapid Finance on the Series C Preferred Financing.
About China Rapid Finance
China Rapid Finance is China’s largest online consumer lending marketplace serving online users and China’s emerging middle class. The Company provides consumer credit access to the world’s largest untapped market, expected to grow to more than RMB 5.4 trillion (US $870 billion) by 2020. Its technology enables socially inclusive financing to the most creditworthy individuals, serving a potential 500 million consumers who are economically active but never have had access to bank credit. China Rapid Finance is a recognized technology innovator and has transformed China’s consumer credit landscape with its introduction of the most advanced omni-channel borrower acquisition system and proprietary Big Data analytics technology platform featuring an end-to-end automated credit decisioning system. It has a proven track record in credit risk management, transparency and a culture focused on innovation with more than 5,000 employees and 80 data verification centers across China.
China Rapid Finance was founded in 2001 by Zane Wang, PhD, one of China’s leading experts in consumer credit market innovation and lending marketplace technology. Prior to founding China Rapid Finance, Dr. Wang received his PhD in Statistics from the University of Illinois at Chicago and started his career in the United States, serving as Head of Analytics for Sears Credit – the world’s largest retail credit card portfolio, subsequently acquired by Citibank. Upon returning to China, Dr. Wang advised the People’s Bank of China on the creation of China’s national credit bureau and the first functioning credit bureau in Shanghai before launching China Rapid Finance. Dr. Wang also is the only Council Committee member of the China Association of Microfinance from the marketplace lending industry, and the Secretary of the Shanghai Financial Information Professional Committee, a branch of the Shanghai government trade association.
The Company’s home page is www.chinarapidfinance.com.
About Broadline Capital
Founded in 2005, Broadline Capital is a global private equity firm focused primarily on growth capital and impact investments in China and North America. Broadline Capital is inspired by champions — people of vision and courage — whose ideas can positively change the world, and who are bringing disciplined and focused management to transform their innovative ideas into the next big, industry-changing companies. For more information about Broadline Capital, visit www.broadlinecapital.com.
1 According to Oliver Wyman as measured by cumulative number of consumer loans; emerging middle class definition:http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/consumer_and_retail/mapping_chinas_middle_class