Rumor has it that a new round of financing for China’s leading smartphone company, Xiaomi, is in progress. This comes shortly after Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun’s claim that the company has over RMB 10 billion (USD 1.5 billion) in cash on paper.
Tencent Tech on Thursday reported a leak from investment company CITIC Capital. The report says CITIC Capital will launch a USD 110 million PE investment in Xiaomi for a 0.45% stake in the company.
According to the leak in which CITIC Capital promoted its financial product, it sets a minimum investment between RMB one million to RMB three million. Based on Xiaomi’s current valuation at USD 45 billion, the leak suggested a 40% discount for CITIC Capital.
“Xiaomi hasn’t received any financing since December 2014. Xiaomi has over RMB 10 billion in cash in the bank,” Lei told Sina Tech on Monday. “We don’t have financial pressure, so any recent financing news about Xiaomi is a rumor.”
To date, Xiaomi has landed five rounds of financing. It raised USD 41 million in Series A from investors including IDG, Morningside and Qiming Venture Partners in 2010, valuing the company at USD 250 million. Its latest round of financing closed in December 2014. USD 1.1 billion was raised from investors including All-stars, DST and GIC, valuing the company at USD 45 billion.
Xiaomi was not able to be reached for comment on Thursday.
(Lei Jun, Xiaomi CEO. Top photo from Ihema.com)
A correction was made that Lei Jun claimed that the company has more than USD 1.5 billion in cash.
