China’s Meituan Dianping just became the world’s fourth-most valuable startup, reaching a $30 billion valuation that puts it ahead of high-fliers like Airbnb Inc. and Space X.
Never heard of Meituan? You’re not alone. The Beijing-based company, led by Wang Xing, is almost unknown beyond its home country. It delivers food to people’s homes, sells groceries and movie tickets, provides reviews of restaurants, and markets discounts to consumers who buy in groups. It’s a sort of mashup of Groupon, Yelp, Foodpanda and Uber Eats.
Meituan’s appeal for investors is its dominant position in a market of more than a billion people. It was formed through the 2015 merger of Meituan.com and Dianping.com, creating the leading player for internet-based services ordered via smartphone apps. It raised $4 billion in the latest round from Tencent Holdings Ltd., Sequoia Capital and U.S. travel giant Priceline Group Inc.
“It’s a quasi-monopoly built on the stomachs of 1.4 billion people,” said Keith Pogson, global assurance leader for banking and capital markets in Hong Kong at consultant EY.
Wang started Meituan.com in 2010 as a group-buying site similar to Groupon Inc., where people can get discounts by buying electronics or restaurant meals together. Dianping was founded in 2003 in…
