It is rumored that Ant Group will restart IPO, but everything is still uncertain

According to Phoenix Technology, some insiders believe that OceanBase is 'completing an IPO on behalf of Ant Group, but the problem with OceanBase is that it is too small in size'.

In mid-2023, Ant Group initiated a new round of organizational structure upgrades, establishing a new position of Group President and announcing that innovative businesses would become independent companies, facing the market independently. By then, Ant Group's core businesses were divided into two main areas: its primary business, comprising digital interconnection, digital payment, and digital finance, with subsidiaries including Alipay Business Group, Wealth Insurance Business Group, and Credit Business Group; and its innovative businesses, centered around Ant International, Ant Fintech, and OceanBase.

According to media reports, after clarifying independent operations, independent companies under Ant Group accelerated their capital operations.

On June 29 this year, OceanBase's parent company, Beijing OceanBase Technology, completed a new round of strategic financing, with 20 new investors entering simultaneously, including China International Capital Corporation Limited, Yunfeng Capital, E Fund, Alibaba, Primavera Capital, Sequoia China, and others.

According to equity penetration data, funds under Alibaba occupy two shareholder seats, namely Hangzhou Junlan and Hangzhou Jun'ao Equity Investment Partnership. The ultimate beneficiaries of OceanBase actually include Zeng Songbai (Alibaba partner), Jiang Jiangwei (Alibaba partner and head of Alibaba Cloud Intelligent Infrastructure Products), Jing Xiandong, Hu Xiaoming (former CEO of Ant Group), Peng Lei, and others.

The new shareholders of OceanBase also overlap significantly with those of Ant Group, including 12 shareholders such as Hangzhou Junlan, Hangzhou Jun'ao, Zhifu Shanghai, Shanghai Qihong, Shanghai Qizhan, Shanghai Zhongfu, Hainan Conglin No. 1, Beijing Jingguan, Shanghai Yunfeng, Chunhua Jingxin, Shanghai Jingyi, and Shanghai Financial Development Investment Fund.

As of now, OceanBase employs nearly a thousand people and adjusted its organizational structure earlier this year, establishing a Financial & Government Business Unit, a Public Cloud Business Unit, and an International Business Unit. In March this year, OceanBase released job postings and will initiate a recruitment plan for 100 people, with technical positions accounting for nearly 60% of the total, further increasing investment in finance, government and enterprise, and public cloud teams.