Social media giant Tencent Holdings is in advanced negotiations to invest US$100 million in Mumbai-based online fantasy sports platform Dream11, according to Indian media.
China’s $20B News Leader Toutiao Under Siege By Government and Rivals
Watching a stern Mark Zuckerberg testify before the U.S. Congress is a reminder how China’s tech companies, despite differences in economic structure and technological sophistication, follow similar trajectories with their American counterparts. Toutiao, China’s biggest personalized news app with a US$20 billion valuation, is experiencing a similar crisis these days as government and competitors attack its core business model.
Chinese Anime Video Sharing Portal Bilibili Files For $400M IPO In US
Chinese online anime-streaming platform Bilibili Inc. has filed a F-1 form to raise as much as US$400 million via a listing on the New York Stock Exchange, after being rumored to plan a U.S. IPO for months.
China’s Orient Hontai Capital Acquires Majority Stake In Spain’s Imagina Media Audiovisual
Chinese private equity group Orient Hontai Capital has agreed to buy a 53.5% stake in Spanish media firm Imagina Media Audiovisual, valuing the target company at an enterprise value of EUR1.9 billion (US$2.34 billion).
Tencent Injects $474M In Chinese Gaming Firm Shanda Games
Tencent Holdings Ltd. said it plans to invest RMB3 billion (US$474 million) in Chinese online gaming firm Shanda Games in exchange for an undisclosed stake in the target company, according to an official announcement.
Disney’s Princess Elsa Is Latest Victim Of China’s Internet Censorship
China’s 200 million children under the age of 14 have a new lesson to learn: censorship.
CICC Leads $95M Round In Chinese Online Sports Community Hupu
Investment management firm China International Capital Corp. has led a new funding round worth RMB618 million (US$95 million) in Hupu Sports (Shanghai) Media Ltd., an online sports information, retail and entertainment community.
Sequoia Capital-backed Sports Fund Leads New Round In Shared Gym Operator Supermonkey
Jiansheng Sports Fund, a fund co-established by Sequoia Capital China and China Media Capital in March to focus on sports equipment brands, sports lotteries and new events IP, has led a series C round in shared gym operator Supermonkey worth hundreds of millions of RMB.
DealShot: Yao Capital Leads $45M Round In Chinese Sports Marketing Company Shankai Sports
China Money Network’s DealShot provides detailed information on venture capital and private equity deals in China on a daily basis. Here you can find out where Chinese investors have been investing their money in at around 5pm each workday.
Yao Capital Headed by Ex NBA Star Leads $75M Round In Sports Firm Doing Now
Yao Capital, backed by former NBA player Yao Ming, has led a RMB500 million (US$75 million) series A round in Doing Now, a Beijing-based sports training company.
DealShot: Matrix Leads $30M Round In Chinese Gaming Start-up Banana Culture
China Money Network’s DealShot provides detailed information on venture capital and private equity deals in China on a daily basis. Here you can find out where Chinese investors have been investing their money in at around 5pm each workday.
Alibaba Expands Online Gaming Business With Ejoy Acquisition
Alibaba is becoming a serious player in the online gaming sector. The technology giant founded by Jack Ma today announced that it has acquired online gaming company Ejoy and revealed plans to establish for the first time a dedicated gaming unit to expand into the lucrative sector.
CITIC Guoan Partners With Transformers Producer Tom DeSanto To Invest $120M In China-US Movie Project
Chinese investment holding company CITIC Guoan Group is the latest Chinese investor getting into the show business, as a unit of the Beijing-based conglomerate announced that it plans to invest US$120 million in a Sino-American co-production project.
China’s eSports Industry Revenue Reached $7B Last Year
China’s electronic sports (eSports), or competitive video games, industry generated RMB50.4 million (US$7 billion) in revenue in 2016, up 34.7% year-on-year, according to a report by China’s GPC, an industry group for game publishers.
Alisports Partners With Asian Olympic Council To Bring eSports To 2022 Games
Alisports Group, the sports affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., has announced a strategic partnership with the Olympic Council of Asia in an effort to bring electronic sports (eSports), or competitive video games, to the official sports program of the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
China’s CMC Capital Buys Stake In US Talent And Sports Agency CAA
China’s CMC Capital Partners has acquired a stake in U.S. talent and sports agency firm, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), with an eye to create a joint venture in China and expand CAA’s businesses in the world’s second largest economy, the Chinese private equity firm announced today.
Alibaba’s Sports Unit Alisports Rumored To Seek $170M From Investors
Shanghai-based Alisports, the sports unit of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., is in the process of raising a RMB1.2 billion (US$170 million) series A round led by Yunfeng Capital, a private equity firm co-founded by Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma.
Sequoia China, CMC Holdings Establish Sports Investment Fund
Sequoia Capital China and CMC Holdings, an investment holding company founded by Chinese media mogul and former Shanghai Media Group chief Li Ruigang, have jointly established a sports investment fund to back and consolidate global premium sports assets. The fund has completed a first closing, the companies said today, but did not disclose any financial details. The vehicle has already led a series A financing round for Chinese boxing event operator and video platform Beijing Wanmingyang Media. It also invested …
Legend Leads $15M Round In Chinese Web TV Studio Up Pictures
Legend Capital has led a series A funding of roughly RMB100 million (US$15 million) in Beijing-based web TV and film studio Up Pictures. They are the second web TV and video producer to raise venture funding within a week.
China’s LeSports Defaults On Asian Soccer Broadcasting Contract
The saga at once high-flying Chinese Internet company LeEco continues. The latest sign of financial distress at the Beijing-based tech conglomerate is that its sports unit has lost the rights to web broadcast Asian Football Confederation soccer games in mainland China after missing payments on a US$100 million contract.
Wanda Denies It Fired Legendary Pictures Founder For Poor Film Sales
Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group denied media reports that it forced the departure of Legendary Picture Inc.’s founder Thomas Tull because of poor box office performance for its new film "The Great Wall", the company said in a statement today.
LeSports Raising $439M To Ease Cash Shortage And Fuel Growth
LeSports, the sports unit of cash-strapped Chinese Internet and technology conglomerate LeEco, is in the process of raising RMB3 billion (US$439 million) from an unnamed investor to support future growth, according to Chinese media reports.
Venture-Backed Gaming Firm G-bits Completes A-Share IPO
G-bits Network Technology Co. Ltd., a Chinese online gaming company backed by IDG Capital Partners and Fortune Capital, has completed an initial public offering on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, raising RMB961 million (US$138 million).
China’s Puji Capital Invests In US eSports Start-Up aXiomatic
Chinese investment firm Puji Capital has made a strategic investment into aXiomatic, an eSports ownership and management group led by two U.S. professional sports team owners and entrepreneurs, Peter Guber and Ted Leonsis.
LeSports Pares Back After Year-Long Blind Expansion
LeSports has begun the process of paring back its businesses significantly, after a year of rapid expansion and amid a cash crunch that is crippling its parent, LeEco.
Baidu’s iQiyi Expands Movie Rights Deal With Lionsgate
Online video platform iQiyi has signed an agreement to obtain exclusive rights from U.S. movie production and distribution firm Lionsgate to stream its existing and new movies in China.
Chinese Sports Lottery Firm 500.Com Invests $16M In Social Poker Game Start-Up Qufan
Chinese online sports lottery service provider 500.com Ltd. has agreed to invest in mobile social poker game operators Qufan Internet Technology Inc. and Shenzhen Qufan Internet Technology Co., Ltd. for RMB110.5 million (US$16 million), the firm said.
CMC Capital’s Li Ruigang Appointed As Chairman Of Hong Kong’s Shaw Brothers
Hong Kong-based movie studio Shaw Brothers Holdings Ltd. has appointed Li Ruigang (pictured), founder of CMC Capital, as chairman and non-executive director to deepen cooperation with mainland film and entertainment industries.
Principle Capital Co-Leads $45M Venture Round In Hongyuan Era Sports
Principle Capital and Shanghai Elegant Investment Co., Ltd have led a RMB300 million (US$45 million) funding round in Hongyuan Era Sports Industry Group, a Chinese sports training, events and technology company.
Huayi Brothers Acquires 20% Of Sequoia-Backed eSports Firm Hero Entertainment For $288M
China’s Huayi Brothers has invested RMB1.9 billion (US$288 million) for a 20% stake in Hero Entertainment, an eSports company backed Sequoia Capital and others.
Yao Ming’s Private Equity Fund Invests In Kickboxing Firm Glory Sports
Yao Capital, a RMB2 billion private equity firm founded by former NBA superstar Yao Ming, has led an undisclosed series B financing round in Glory Sports International (GSI) and acquired a significant stake in the company, according to a company announcement.