By Julia Fioretti and Julie Zhu
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Maoyan Weying, China’s largest movie ticket platform, has filed for an initial public offering in Hong Kong that it hopes will raise between $500 million and $1 billion, two people familiar with the company’s plans said.
The company, which filed its prospectus on Monday under the name Entertainment Plus, offers ticketing services in China – the world’s second-largest film market after the United States – through its Maoyan and Gewara apps.
A company spokesman declined to comment on the details of the IPO, such as the scope of share sales and the company’s valuation.
Maoyan Weying was valued at 20 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) in November last year when it raised 1 billion yuan from Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings, Chinese media reported at the time.
According to the draft prospectus published on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s website, the exchange has a 60.9 percent market share in online cinema ticket sales.
The company also distributes films produced in China and sometimes helps market foreign films in China, such as the 2017 romantic drama “The Shape of Water,” which won four Oscars.
According to the official Xinhua news agency, Chinese box office revenue rose 13.5 percent to 55.9 billion yuan ($8.2 billion) in 2017, more than tripling the growth rate from 2016 as foreign films accounted for a larger share of ticket sales.
According to the draft prospectus, Maoyan Weying’s revenue doubled to 1.9 billion yuan in the first half of this year from 931.3 million yuan a year earlier.
The company’s loss rose to 231.2 million yuan ($33.8 million) in the same period last year from 117.6 million yuan in the same period last year.
Maoyan Weying plans to use the proceeds for acquisitions, investments, research and development, and to expand its content offering, the prospectus said.
Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley are joint sponsors, while China Renaissance is acting as financial advisor.
Maoyan Weying, which reported 133.5 million monthly active users in the first half of 2018, is the latest Chinese online company to raise capital through a stock market listing.
Meituan Dianping, an online food delivery and ticketing service provider, has completed an initial public offering in Hong Kong valued at up to $4.4 billion, which could value the company at up to $55 billion, according to independent sources.
The books were covered shortly after publication on Tuesday, they added.
(1 US dollar = 6.8238 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Julia Fioretti and Julie Zhu; Editing by Darren Schuettler)
