65 Equity invests $107m in Singapore's Cityneon
Temasek Holdings-backed 65 Equity Partners has invested SGD 150m (USD 107m) in Singapore’s Cityneon, a company that markets entertainment brands by staging elaborate events, displays, and exhibitions.
65 Equity is wholly owned by Temasek but independently managed. It focuses on Singaporean companies with growth ambitions in Southeast Asia, Europe, and the US.
It follows a SGD 235m round last year featuring two other Temasek units, Pavilion Capital and Seatown Holdings International. That round also featured Singapore government investor EDBI and Doha Venture Capital, a government-controlled investor in Qatar. Earlier investors include CITIC Capital, which provided an undisclosed sum in 2019.
Cityneon specializes in producing immersive promotional exhibitions for film and gaming studios. The company was founded in 1956 as an electric appliances supplier and gradually transitioned into branding and design. It will be rebranded as Neon, although the exact timing has not been confirmed.
Cityneon is active in more than 50 cities and has some 10m unique visitors; it has ambitions to be the largest operator globally in the entertainment exhibition segment. Its installations, which hype brands such as Jurassic World, Avatar, and Transformers, feature robotics and 3D stereoscopic displays among other special effects technology.
The company has claimed intellectual property (IP) rights for five of the top 10 worldwide box office hits. Clients include Disney, Marvel, Hasbro, Universal, and Lionsgate. It has also partnered with governments for museum exhibitions in Peru and Egypt.
“Cityneon has a unique franchise, which provides IP-based immersive entertainment where it has built a leading position globally supported by a portfolio of high-quality IPs,” Tan Chong Lee, CEO of 65 Equity, said in a statement.
“This investment aligns strategically with our mandate of supporting high growth, leading businesses led by founders and entrepreneurs, to help them scale and fulfil their growth aspirations, as well as facilitating their eventual public listing.”
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