Douyu, China’s game streaming company has plans to raise around $600-$700 million through a US initial public offering (IPO) by cashing in on the esports phenomenon that is firmly holding the attention of the Chinese population.
The Chinese entertainment platform offers in-game live streaming, where viewers can watch players play live or live recorded videos. According to the sources, the leading game streaming platform had been considering a Hong Kong listing early this year but has now shifted its interest towards a US IPO.
The Tencent-backed company was founded in 2014, and since then has emerged into a unicorn with a valuation of over 20 billion yuan ($2.95 billion). The latest funding round of the company worth $630 million led by Tencent was held in March this year.
The company’s IPO plans emerged as the esports market rapidly expanded in China and following the route of its competitors Huya raising $180 million. The stock was priced at $12 per share initially and it increased rapidly to around $36 a piece now.
Douyu has around 53 employees on board and an estimated annual revenue of $8.1 million. The company has raised around $960.2 million in funding as of now.
The recent boom in live streaming and e-sports markets have given a hype to companies like Douyu. The esports market was worth $700 million last year and is expected to rise to $1.5 billion by 2020 as esports has become one of the biggest growth drivers of the gaming industry.
In the past a few months, we saw the IPO listing of top companies in various sectors, from smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi to video streaming giants such as iQiyi and Bilibili. And now, the game streaming company Douyu is also set to launch its IPO to grab a considerable amount of funds.