GPs in $90m round for China’s IMS New Media Group
IMS New Media Group, a Chinese social media marketing firm, has raised a RMB600 million ($90 million) Series C round of funding across two tranches, with participation by SAIF Partners, Morgan Stanley, and social media platform Sina Weibo.
CSC Financial, China Merchant Bank, Qiushi Investment and Winshare PE also contributed capital. Following the investment, Weibo CEO Gaofei Wang joined IMS’ board, a statement said.
Formerly known as Beijing Inmyshow Technology, Beijing-headquartered IMS was founded in 2009. It provides big data-driven social media solutions for brands in various industries under five brands: Smart, Weiq, Topklout, Fengli Technology and Liuda.
Weiq is an online advertising trading platform, connecting Chinese corporates with online users. It claims to have more than 50,000 companies and 320 million social network users on its platform.
IMS operates in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, and has established partnerships with internet companies including Alibaba Group, Weibo and Qihoo360 Technology. Its revenue grew to RMB1 billion last year from RMB11 million in 2010.
The company raised a $4 million Series A round from Sina Corporation – the parent company of Sina Weibo – and SAIF in 2010. Three years later, it completed a $12 million Series B round from Sina, SAIF and JAFCO Asia. The new funding will be used to develop new technology and provide new marketing solutions to its clients.
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