JD.com said Friday it has agreed to merge its localized online-to-off-line supermarket platform with a company specialized in crowdsourced delivery.
JD.com said its O2O business, JD Daojia, will merge with Dada Nexus Ltd., China’s largest crowdsourcing delivery platform, to form a new company. JD.com, Alibaba’s number-one rival, said it will obtain about 47.4 percent of the new company in exchange for its JD Daojia business and $200 million in cash. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter.
The new entity will provide low-cost delivery services to China’s retailers, service providers and O2O enterprises, JD.com said. It will also focus on the location-based mobile commerce sector, working with off-line supermarkets, convenience stores and other local businesses to provide consumers “the fastest premium shopping experience.”
The Chinese e-commerce giant said its supermarket platform, launched last year, already provides two-hour delivery services. Dada’s distribution network covers 37 key cities in China with a total of 1.3 million registered crowdsourced delivery people, according to JD.com.
“This merger is a win-win cooperation and an important step forward in building a sustainable O2O ecosystem,” said Richard Liu, chief executive officer of JD.com.