The soaring valuation of group-buying services on the internet has spilt over into China, with Lashou.com, one of several Groupon copycats, announcing that it had been valued at $1.1bn by its latest fundraising round.
The extra $110m investment takes the total raised by the company, which was launched only in March last year, to $170m, and marks an intensification of the land-grab under way in one of the fastest-growing corners of e-commerce.
Groupon itself sought to buy a controlling stake in Lashou late last year, in a deal that would have valued the Chinese company at the time at $500m, according to one person familiar with its bid. It has since launched its own service there, alongside local internet company TenCent.