Chinese company Baidu has decided to divest majority stake of its financial services business to a consortium led by TPG Capital Management and Carlyle Group for nearly $1.9bn.
The divestment is expected to provide the company with the necessary funding to strengthen its fintech business.
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The Baidu’s Financial Services Group (Baidu FSG) operates payment system, online credit service and a wealth management platform as well as multiple small financial licenses, according to Reuters.
Following the completion of the deal, Baidu will own around 42% stake in the unit, while the remaining majority stake will be owned by the consortium that also includes Taikang Group and ABC International Holdings.
The unit will also be renamed Du Xiaoman Financial and it will operate independently.
Baidu senior vice-president Guang Zhu was quoted by the news agency as saying: “In the coming age of FinTech, Du Xiaoman will leverage the technological capabilities of Baidu AI to partner with financial institutions and provide technology-driven, trustworthy financial services to consumers in China.”
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By GlobalDataEstablished in 2015, Baidu FSG had a loan balance of $4.42bn, as of 31 December 2017.
