Singapore's Tembusu, China's Bona to create $100m media fund
Singapore-based PE firm Tembusu Partners and local media entrepreneur Calvin Cheng have joined forces with Yu Dong, China Bona Film Group’s CEO, to launch a $100 million fund targeting China’s media and entertainment industry.
Media Entertainment Fund, which is domiciled in Singapore, is one of the first non renminbi-dominated funds to invest in China's media sector. Bona Film, the largest privately-owned film distributor in the country, is expected to be one of the anchor investors along with Thailand's Chia Tai Group. It will target media companies, content and technologies as investment targets.
The closed-end, five-year media vehicle will be formalized by the end of March, with fundraising to begin shortly after.
Cheng, a former politician, said the existing film and TV co-production agreement between Singapore and China opens up opportunities for the fund to invest in projects that involve Singapore-based media companies, Variety reported. "In addition, we will be looking at media companies globally that have a ‘China-story,'" he added.
Tembusu was set up in 2006 and now has S$270 million ($217 million) under management across four funds. It targets growth-stage companies across Asia in sectors such as education, healthcare, technology and resources. The company has offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Qingdao, as well as in Singapore.
China is the world's second-largest cinema market and it is expected to take the top spot from the US over the next few years. A number of Chinese investors and Hollywood producers have formed partnerships in order to leverage this growth.
In September, Taiwan's Fubon Group, Hong Kong's Media Asia and South Korean music giant SM Entertainment established a media-focused fund to jointly invest in Chinese film and TV production.
Earlier in the year, Fosun International said it would invest in Studio 8, a Hollywood film studio, to develop film and TV series for distribution in China, while FountainVest Partners and CMC Capital Partners paid $80 million for a 20% stake in movie theater operator IMAX's China business. Hony Capital and TPG Capital have also teamed up with two Hollywood producers to set up a film studio.
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