Chinese gaming streaming platform Douyu applies for IPO in the US

Chinese gaming streaming platform Douyu has applied for an IPO at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 23. Douyu wants to go public at the New York Stock Exchange and hopes to receive USD500m in funding. 

Douyu focuses on livestreaming video games and eSports content and is considered an important player in the area of gaming streaming in China. 

It is reported that Douyu’s business income grew significantly by 93.8% to CNY3.654bn in 2018 with CNY3.127bn of the income coming from live streaming, which is 106.8% more than 2017. Its 2018 net profit was CNY151m (net profit rate: 4.1%) and its overall deficit continues to decrease. 

Douyu says in its report for SEM that its user acknowledgement, engagement and loyalty continues to grow and the amount of paying users has been increasing rapidly. The number of monthly active users in the first quarter of 2019 is 110.1m, 21% higher than the first quarter of 2017. In 2016, 2017 and 2018, the average number of paying users each quarter was 900000, 2400000 and 3800000 respectively. In the first quarter of 2019, the number has grown to 6000000, which is a 66.7% growth year-on-year. 

From 2016 to today, Douyu has obtained exclusive live streaming rights of 29 global and national eSports events, such as League of Legends and DOTA2. In 2018, the company live streamed 337 eSports events, organized 85 eSports events and sponsored 26 eSports teams. 

Tecent is a major shareholder of Douyu, holding around 40% of their shares. Tencent has invested through B, C and E round funding in Douyu since 2016. 

Reference: Chinanews.com

Proofread by Raymond Fitzpatrick