China’s Meituan Dianping just became the world’s fourth-most valuable start-up, reaching a $30bn valuation that puts it ahead of high-fliers like Airbnb 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 is 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 $4bn in the latest round from Tencent Holdings, Sequoia Capital and US travel giant Priceline Group. "It’s a quasi-monopoly built on the stomachs of 1.4- billion people," said Keith Pogson, global assurance leade...
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