Livestreaming platform Douyu gets $630m backing by Tencent

Domestic livestreaming platform Douyu has completed a new round of financing worth $630 million, supplied entirely by Tencent Holdings, domestic news site 163.com reported on Thursday.

The information was announced by Chen Shaojie, CEO of Douyu, the media report said.

Chen Chao, the site’s chief operating officer, said that the company is preparing for an IPO, but declined to elaborate, 163.com reported.

In January, Reuters reported that Douyu aims to raise $300 million to $400 million from an IPO this year, citing people close to the deal.

Established in 2013, Douyu is one of the leading livestreaming platforms for games in China. In the third quarter of 2017, the platform had the highest percentage of active users in the segment in China, according to a report released by Guangzhou-based market research firm iiMedia in November.

Competitor Huya, a subsidiary of livestreaming platform YY Inc, said on Monday that it had submitted IPO documents to the US Securities and Exchange Committee.

Another livestreaming platform, Inke, is planning an IPO in Hong Kong to raise $300 million, according to a Reuters report on Thursday.

As of last August, Douyu had monthly active users of more than 13 million, following by Huya and PandaTV, with 9 million and 5.4 million, a survey from Beijing-based research company Analysys showed.

The user base for Chinese livestreaming will surpass 500 million in 2019 compared with last year’s 398 million, iiMedia said in January.