A merger between group-buying and restaurant-review websites Meituan and Dianping, announced on Thursday, makes the two previous rivals the third Internet duo this year to join forces.

The new entity, to be co-chaired by Meituan CEO Wang Xing and Dianping CEO Zhang Tao, could be worth more than 15 billion U.S. dollars.

Investment bank China Renaissance has been named financial adviser for the merger.

The tie-up will likely see the previous rivals combining resources to take on their competitors, such as Nuomi, run by search engine Baidu, and startup ele.me.

In February, taxi hailing firms Didi and Kuaidi joined forces and the new firm is now valued at 16.5 billion dollars.

In April, 58.com, a Craigslist-style classified service merged with rival Ganji. Investors have been pushing for key rivals to merge due to the spiraling costs of marketing campaigns.

Internet giants Alibaba and Tencent hold stakes in Meituan and Dianping, respectively. Endi

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