FILE PHOTO: A worker moves goods at a JD.com logistic centre in Langfang, Hebei province, China November 10, 2015. Picture taken November 10, 2015. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo

HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese online retailer JD.com Inc JD.O has invested $306 million in ESR Cayman Ltd, a logistics fund developer and manager backed by private equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC, ESR said in a statement on Tuesday.

JD.com, via its logistics unit, will take a stake in ESR, which was formed by a merger between Shanghai-based warehousing services firm e-Shang and Singaporean logistics real estate investment firm The Redwood Group.

ESR said that it would cooperate with JD.com in areas including property development, fund management and investment across the region.

JD.com, China’s second largest e-commerce firm, raised $2.5 billion for its logistics arm in February, seeking to bolster its position in online retail home and abroad.

It has also invested in logistics infrastructure in Southeast Asia and has a partnership with Japanese delivery firm Yamato Holdings Co Ltd 9064.T.

Warburg Pincus co-founded e-Shang in 2011 with two Chinese entrepreneurs and brought in investors such as APG Asset Management NV, CPPIB and Goldman Sachs.

E-Shang merged with Redwood in January 2016. A year later, a consortium of mainland China financial institutions invested $300 million in ESR in a pre-IPO funding round, which one source said was likely in the next 12-18 months.