WARBURG Pincus LLC is in talks to invest in a fundraising round for China’s Ant Financial Services Group expected to be worth at least US$8 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The New York-based private equity firm is one of several global and Chinese investors that Alipay, the operator of China’s top online payment platform, is talking to, the sources said, adding that Ant’s valuation may be as high as US$150 billion after the round.

Strong demand from investors looking to position themselves ahead of Ant’s highly anticipated stock market flotation could result in funding of US$8 billion to US$10 billion, much higher than an initial target of up to US$5 billion, one of the sources said.

Warburg Pincus is the second big global name to be associated with the latest equity fundraising after Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings, underscoring investor appreciation for the company’s rapid growth. Previous rounds were limited to domestic investors.

Both Warburg and Temasek are keen to be key investors. Temasek is likely to the lead investor, three sources have said. A separate source said it was unclear whether Warburg Pincus will end up leading the round along with Temasek.

Ant, controlled by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. founder Jack Ma, declined to comment on the fundraising and its talks with potential investors. Alibaba declined to comment.

A spun-off from Alibaba when the group went public in New York in 2014, Ant is also in talks with several of its existing shareholders for the pre-IPO fundraising, the sources said. (SD-Agencies)