Ping An leads $75m round for YY's gaming subsidiary Huya
China Ping An Insurance has led a $75 million Series A round for Huya, the live game broadcasting subsidiary of Chinese social networking platform YY.
Banyan Capital, Engage Capital and Morningside Venture Capital also participated in the round, according to a statement, along with YY Chairman David Xueling Li and Huya CEO Rongjie Dong. While the size of the investors’ stake was not disclosed, YY said it will retain majority ownership of the company.
YY launched its game broadcasting service in 2013 and rebranded it as Huya in 2015. The service allows users to capture their game sessions to video and stream them online. Viewers watch the stream for free, and have the option to buy virtual gifts for the streamers to show their appreciation. Huya takes a commission on each gift purchased.
Morningside, one of the participants in the Series A round, is also a backer of YY. It first invested in the company in 2006, leading a $4 million funding round, and later took part in a $23 million Series C round in 2009. Currently, Morningside holds a 3.7% stake.
YY was set up in 2005 and launched its core product, YY Client, three years later. The free-to-download application allows real-time group communication through voice, text and video. Today, in addition to YY Client, the platform comprises web portals YY.com and Duowan.com, along with Mobile YY and Huya.
Lei Jun, founder of mobile phone maker Xiaomi, was another early investor in YY, and joined the company as chairman prior to its 2012 NASDAQ IPO. Lei and Li tried to take the company private, submitting a $3.7 billion buyout bid in 2015. However, they withdrew the bid last June citing unfavorable market conditions.
In its most recent annual report, YY recorded RMB8.2 billion ($1.2 billion) in revenue for the year ended December 2016, up from RMB5.9 billion the year before, while net profit rose from RMB1 billion to RMB1.5 billion. Huya’s revenue grew from RMB356 million to RMB797 million over the same period, with its net loss growing from RMB416 million to RMB476 million.
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.