Alibaba Group plans to merge its food delivery units and raise funds for the combined business, intensifying a battle with Tencent-backed Meituan Dianping for dominance of China's booming on-demand services market, four people told Reuters.
The Alibaba units to be merged include food delivery platform Ele.me and food and lifestyle services firm Koubei, the people said. Alibaba is looking to raise between $3 billion and $5 billion for the combined entity, said one of the sources. The entity could be valued at up to $25 billion, said another.
