Chinese high-street realtor Lianjia seeks $2 billion in new funds

Chinese real-estate agent Lianjia, whose green-themed outlets fill the high streets of China’s major cities, is looking to attract up to $2 billion in a private fundraising round, sources told the Wall Street Journal, with big names in tech and private equity among interested investors.

The Beijing-based realtor could earn a valuation of $13 billion from the round, the sources said. Tech giant Tencent has already announced it will invest $1 billion in Lianjia, with US private equity firm Warburg Pincus providing a further $500 million.

The capital raised will go towards expanding Lianjia’s recently-launched brokerage websites Beike, according to the sources, which offers financial and brokerage services to Chinese tenants. Lianjia also counts among its daughter companies the popular branded-rental platform Ziroom.

Lianjia currently runs over 8,000 offices across 28 cities in China, according to the company website.