(Adds company statement) HONG KONG, April 19 (Reuters) - Meituan has raised $10 billion through a mega equity and convertible bond sale, according to a statement from the Chinese food delivery giant. The company sold 187 million shares at HK$273.80 each to raise $6.59 billion in the share sale finalised Tuesday. It also raised a $2.98 billion in a two-tranche convertible bond and an extra $400m from Tencent, Meituan’s largest shareholder. The company had flagged the stock would be sold at $HK265 to $HK274 each when the deal launched Monday. The final price was a 5.3% discount to Meituan’s closing price of HK$289.2 on Monday in Hong Kong. The cash will be used to help fund the research and development of autonomous vehicle and drone delivery services, according to the statement. Analysts expect the cash would also be used to help boost Meituan’s flagging group buying scheme. Meituan’s move comes as China’s tech giants face increasing regulation due to concerns they have grown too rapidly, built market power that stifles competition and hurt consumer rights. The tougher environment, though, has failed to slow a push by the companies in the sector to raise cash. Tencent Holdings Ltd, which is the main backer of Meituan, last week raised $4.2 billion in a bond that was the company’s second in a year. Meituan has been rapidly expanding Meituan Select, which enables communities to set up groups for bulk buying. The new business relies heavily on subsidies and the company’s earnings swung to a loss over the quarter ended December. “Meituan has been burning money in Meituan Select ... But it looks like Meituan would not like to withdraw from the severe competition,” Aequitas Research analyst Ming Lu, who publishes on Smartkarma, told Reuters when asked about Meituan’s need to raise cash. The convertible bond has a zero coupon rate, which means investors buy the bonds for the prospect of securing future equity gains when the instruments convert into stock. They would also have their principal repaid at maturity if the option to convert into shares is not exercised. Meituan said on Monday it had begun to pilot autonomous delivery vehicles in the outskirts of Beijing that achieved level 4 autonomous driving, meaning they can operate without a human driver under certain conditions. The company has been testing autonomous delivery vehicles in the area since last year and has accomplished 35,000 orders through autonomous delivery, Meituan said in a statement. (Reporting by Scott Murdoch. Additional reporting Yingzhi Yang; Editing by Louise Heavens, Mark Potter and Kim Coghill)