China's CMC, Enlight back IMAX's VR fund
Two Chinese media players – sector specialist PE firm CMC Capital Partners and entertainment content provider Enlight Media – are among the first group of LPs in a virtual reality (VR) fund raised by IMAX Corporation and its Hong Kong-listed Chinese affiliate.
Taiwan-based hardware manufacturer Acer, Creative Artists Agency, The Raine Group, Studio City and WPP also contributed to the first phase of the $50 million vehicle. It will help finance the creation of at least 25 "VR content experiences" over the next three years for use across all VR platforms. These experiences will typically be productions with Hollywood studio and filmmaker partners that complement IMAX's film slate, as well as with gaming publishers and other content developers.
IMAX is working on a network of VR centers intended to help all users experience new worlds in an immersive and realistic way. It is already in advanced discussions with numerous content developers and intends to utilize a cinema-grade virtual reality camera that it is currently developing in partnership with Google for several of the projects.
"With VR in its ascendancy, this initiative is a key step in ensuring that more high-quality content makes its way to various VR platforms, including IMAX VR centers," Robert D. Lister, chief business development officer at IMAX, said in a statement. "We were extremely pleased with the significant interest we received from such a prominent group of investors, and together, we look forward to helping usher in the next generation of highly differentiated, highly immersive VR content experiences to audiences worldwide."
CMC, which is in the process of raising its second US dollar-denominated fund, invested in IMAX China alongside FountainVest Partners in 2014. The company went public last year and the two private equity firms have so far made two partial exits. CMC also launched the IMAX China Film Fund in conjunction with IMAX Corporation and IMAX China. In addition to its funds, CMC has a holding vehicle designed to remain invested in assets beyond a 10-year horizon.
TV and movie producer Enlight has also received strategic backing, with a vehicle owned by Alibaba Group founders Jack Ma and Simon Xie investing RMB2.4billion ($383 million) in the business early last year. Enlight has its own venture fund that targets advanced technology, media and entertainment, e-commerce and healthcare deals in China. The Raine Group is a merchant bank that has advised on numerous cross-border transactions involving Chinese companies.
More on Greater China
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.