Chinese retailer Suning has invested US$129 million into Jack Ma-backed Yunfeng Capital’s third fund.
The funding represents 61.41 per cent of a committed $210 million to the private equity firm, which is set to raise $2.5 billion and has so far received commitments from 51 limited partners (LPs).
The company stated that the funding will give it the opportunity to “deepen its smart retail strategy, further enrich the Suning ecosystem as well as achieve financial returns”.
The firm is a current shareholder in Jack Ma’s e-commerce giant Alibaba, and vice versa.
The Yunfeng Capital equity firm makes calculated investments in technology, media and communications, as well as a range of other consumer sectors.