Guirenniao, Hupu.Com to establish $320M sports investment fund

Shanghai-listed Chinese sporting goods firm Guirenniao Co., Ltd. plans to jointly establish an industry investment fund with online sports portal Hupu.com, as part of a strategic partnership to establish a major O2O (online-to-offline) platform in the sports sector in China, according to a securities filing.

The fund aims to raise a total of RMB2 billion (US$320 million) in capital to invest in emerging and innovative sports companies, including sports O2O platforms, sports training, smart devices, sports communities and media platforms.

The fundraising process will be completed in two phases, with a targeted RMB1 billion to be raised in each phase. Guirenniao has committed RMB1 billion (US$160 million) to the fund in the next three years, with a RMB500 million commitment during the first phase.

At the same time, Guirenniao is in the process to finalize details to invest RMB239 million (US$38.5 million) in Hupu.com for a stake no less than 15%, according to another securities filing.

The investment will make Guirenniao the second largest shareholder of Shanghai-based Hupu.com.

China's sports sector is growing rapidly, and may reach a total market size of RMB5 trillion (US$805 billion) by 2025, according to the filing.