Chinese online education platform Yuanfudao, which is backed by tech giant Tencent Holdings <0700.HK>, is close to completing a financing round that would value it at around $7.5 billion, two people familiar with the matter said.
The talks make Yuanfudao, which was founded in 2012 and offers online courses and homework plans to students, a rare bright spot of activity in the deal-making world, which has largely dried up as the coronavirus pandemic has suspended most travel and business meetings.
Yuanfudao's focus on online learning puts it in one of the few sectors that have seen a surge in investor interest as the coronavirus and school closures force students in China to attend classes via the internet.
