Industry

Live-streaming Platform Douyu TV Rumored to IPO Next Month at $700 Million

Jun 08, 2018, 14:42pm2018/08/01 20:06:32 Carol Yin

According to Chinese media reports, the popular live-streaming platform Douyu<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> TV, is rumored to go public in Hong Kong next month at a valuation of $700 million.

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Douyu<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> TV was founded in 2013 as the live-streaming division of recently acquired video platform AcFun. Formally known as “AcFun Live”, Douyu<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> TV became an independent platform and subsequently changed its name to “Fighting Fish” in 2015.

The Twitch-equivalent of China received its latest round of investments worth $630 million from Tencent<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> Holdings Inc. in March earlier this year, putting it at a unicorn valuation of over $1 billion according to China Money Network. Previously, it had raised over $500 million in Series D funding rounds from lead investors such as Sequoia Capital, Phoenix Capital, Cmb International and Tencent<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> Holdings.

Douyu has raised more than $500 million from investors including Tencent and Sequoia — Douyu<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> has raised more than $500 million from investors including Tencent<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> and Sequoia

Another live-streaming platform that received funding from Tencent<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> Holdings on that very day in March is the newly-public HUYA Inc. A subsidiary of YY Inc., HUYA<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in May at a market capitalization of $2 billion according to Forbes.

Douyu<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> was reported as the leading company for the months of August and September 2017 in terms of number of monthly active users, followed by HUYA<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> and Panda TV in data reports collected by Beijing-based research organization analysis. Other players in the live-streaming space in China include Inke Ltd. who reportedly filed for IPO in Hong Kong in March and YY Live, another live-streaming platform under the YY Inc. empire.

In January, Douyu<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> TV was already reported to be preparing for an initial public offering in Hong Kong for investments between $300 million to $400 million. COO Cheng Chao confirmed that the company is preparing for an IPO with no further details in a subsequent interview.

Douyu<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> TV has declined to comment on the new IPO rumors.