Chinese movie ticketing platform seeks up to US$1b in Hong Kong IPO

Maoyan Weiying is planning to use the proceeds for R&D and product enhancements.

Reuters reports that Chinese movie ticketing platform Maoyan Weying is said to have filed for a Hong Kong listing with the goal of raising between US$500m to US$1b to fund its acquisitions, investments, R&D and enhance its current product and service offerings. 

Also read: California filmmaker seeks $500m in Hong Kong flotation

Maoyan Weying, which provides ticketing services through its Maoyan and Gewara apps, distributes Chinese-made films and lends assistance in marketing foreign firms in China, enjoys market leadership in the world’s second largest movie market. It has a 60.9% share of the online movie ticketing market, according to its draft prospectus.

The company was last valued at $22.93b (CNY20b) after it raised $146.99m (CNY1b) from tech giant Tencent Holdings in November. It was formed through the merger of two rival ticketing platforms in september and its investors include Shenzen-listed Beijing Enlight Media Co, Tencent Holdings Ltd and Meituan Dianping. 

China’s box office revenue rose 13.5% in 2017 to US$ 8.2b (CNY55.9b) according to the official Xinhua News Agency, more than tripling its 2016 growth rate. In fact, the Chinese moviegoing audience is widely expected to be the largest global box-office market by 2021 with ticket sales in the country steadily growing at a 17.1% compound annual rate.

Here’s more from Reuters: