Meituan

History

Piloted in Shanghai and Beijing, Meituan had rapidly expanded to second-tier and third-tier cities, totalling 200 million users in 2015. Meituan.com became a dominant company in China after a rapid consolidation of the deal-of-the-day companies. Earlier estimates show that there were 2000 voucher selling companies in the mid-2000s, and due to intense competition in the industry only a few have emerged as dominant players. In 2014 it accounted for 60% of the market share of deal-of-the-day group-buying websites in China. The company received initial funding of $12 million from Sequoia Capital. In May 2014, global growth equity firm General Atlantic led a $300 million Series C funding round with two other investors. On October 8, 2015, Meituan and Dianping, a Chinese group buying site, became one company. On January 19, 2016, Meituan Dianping announced that it has raised more than $3.3 billion. On September 20, 2018, Meituan Dianping debuted on the Hong Kong stock exchange at an IPO price of HK$69 per share.

The company was renamed from "Meituan Dianping" to Meituan with effect from September 30, 2020.

In April 2021, Meituan raised $9.98 billion in additional financing via the sale of $3 billion in convertible bonds and $7 billion in equities. The funds will be used to expand into China's groceries space as well as to develop autonomous technologies in the drone and delivery space. The same month, the State Administration of Market Regulation announced an investigation into Meituan for alleged anticompetitive practices. By May 2021, increased regulatory scrutiny led to almost $40 billion being wiped from the company's overall value. Ultimately, Meituan accepted a fine without making any appeal and stated that it would comply with regulatory requirements in the future.

In May 2023, Meituan's Hong Kong takeaway platform "Keeta" officially launched its services, with the first service pilot located in Mong Kok and Tai Kok Tsui, marking the first time that Meituan has offered its services outside of mainland China.

In September 2026, it was reported that the government was investigating companies in the technology space, including Meituan, for possible violations of unfair competition law.