Hony leads $77m round for China boutique entertainment studio

Linmon, which is known for producing popular TV dramas such as "Chronicle of Life" and "To Be a Better Man," plans to use the new capital to expand its TV productions. It will also add more entertainment products to its lineup, including movies and live entertainment.

Chinese internet giant Tencent and Mango V Foundation also participated in the round. Mango V is a philanthropic organization co-founded by Chinese broadcaster Hunan TV and China Social Welfare Education Foundation.

Tencent committed RMB100 million to Linmon's Series A round last year. It was one of several entertainment-related moves by the company in 2015, including the acquisition, alongside Huayi Brothers and Yunfeng Capital, of Hong Kong-listed China Jiuhao Health Industry for HK$547 million ($70.6 million), and a bid alongside Alibaba Group and a PE consortium to privatize Chinese film studio and distributor Bona Film Group.

China's media industry has seen the entry of a number of investors hoping to capitalize on changes in media consumption by taking more control over industry value chains. 

Hony Capital and TPG Growth, a middle market and growth equity investment arm of TPG Capital, previously partnered with Hollywood producers Robert Simonds and Gigi Pritzker to set up a film studio STX Entertainment.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Media
• Expansion
• Hony Capital