Tech eyes monitor Douyu IPO ambitions
Tech analysts are monitoring the movements of Chinese live streaming platform ‘Douyu’ closely, as the company files for a listing on the New York Stock Exchange this April.
Branded as ‘China’s answer to Twitch.Tv’, the popular live streaming platform owned by Amazon, in its SEC submitted prospectus Douyu’s executive team seeks to raise $500 million from its New York IPO.
Douyu’s target value is close to the firm’s 2018 revenue of ¥3.65 billion ($531.5M) which saw a 93.8% increase from their 2017 turnover, with leadership stating that proceeds will be used for content production, R&D and further marketing to attract more users to its platform.
The Chinese incumbent holds significant support in for its IPO plan, with US investment banks Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan and Bank of America underwriting the transaction.
In its prospectus, Douyu underlines that a successful New York IPO will see the company expand its international profile, seeking to undertake active worldwide opportunities.
“We intend to further explore overseas markets to expand our user base through both organic expansion and selective investments,” noted Douyu in its IPO filing.
In China, Douyu competes against main market rival Huya for outright domination of the multi-million ¥ Chinese streaming market.
Huya listed on the NYE last May raising $180 million in capital. Furthermore, Both Douyu and Huya are backed by Chinese technology fund Tencent Holdings – a conglomerate seeking to significantly expand its profile and services within Western entertainment markets.
Douyu’s filing revealed that their registered users almost tripled from 98 million in 2016 to 253 million in 2018. In the first quarter of 2019, monthly active users reached 159 million an increase of 25.7 from the same time in 2018.
Source: SBC News
