Editor’s note: A version of this post first appeared on Yicai Global, the English-language financial news service of Shanghai Media Group. Yicai Global is one of just two dedicated Chinese news feeds connected to the Bloomberg terminal.
Ofo, one of China’s many bike-rental brands, will be incorporated into Didi Chuxing, the world’s largest ride-hailing platform, according to media reports. The move comes shortly after ofo’s chief competitor, Beijing Mobike Technology Co., integrated with WeChat, a popular messaging app in China.
Ofo’s founder, Dai Wei, confirmed the claims were true, Tech.163.com reported. There will not be a merger in bike-rental akin to the combination of Didi and Uber last year, he added.
Didi had previously invested in several rounds of ofo financing, although neither firm confirmed the financial details of the deals.
Mobike also received funds from Tencent Holdings Ltd., WeChat’s creators. The bike-sharing firm said it would be available on the social platform, which has over 900 million monthly active users, at the end of last month. This allows WeChat users to simply scan the QR code found on Mobikes to ride them, without needing the Mobike app.