Alibaba, Tencent lead $1.5 billion investment in domestic media group

Chinese media group CMC Inc said on Tuesday it raised around 10 billion yuan ($1.49 billion) in a fundraising round from investors including domestic tech giants Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings, according to Reuters.

CMC Inc, one half of the CMC media empire that spans from sports to amusement parks, said the A-round fundraising was led by the two Chinese tech firms along with new investors such as property developer China Vanke Co, the Reuters report said.

CMC Capital Partners is the other half of the larger CMC group, founded by media magnate Li Ruigang.

Li is often portrayed as China’s version of Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch, the head of News Corp.

Alibaba and Tencent declined to comment as of press time by Tuesday.

CMC group is a major force in China’s entertainment and media sectors and has big global ambitions.

It has a stake in the owner of English Premier League team Manchester City and a joint venture with Hollywood studio Warner Brothers Entertainment.

“With the tech revolution driving ongoing change in how people consume content, the global media and entertainment industries are going through a new round of adjustment and change,” CMC’s Li said in a statement.

The investment also came as more tech companies are seeking tie-ups with State-backed firms under China’s mixed-ownership reforms, according to the Reuters report.

Telecoms group China Unicom raised $11.7 billion from a dozen investors including Alibaba and Tencent last year.