Chinese Streaming Firm DouYu Raises $775 Million on NASDAQ Debut
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Chinese live-streaming firm DouYu has set a price of $11.50 per ADS share for its stockmarket debut on NASDAQ. Company CEO Chen Shaojie was expected to ring the exchange’s opening bell.
The share sale will raise a total of $775 million, and provide the company $517 million of fresh capital. At that price DouYu would enjoy an initial market capitalization of $3.73 billion.
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The pricing is at the lower end of the indicated range of $11.50-$14 per ADS (which each represent 10 ordinary shares) and may reflect caution brought on by the continuation of the U.S.-China trade war. DouYu published its draft prospectus in April and had been expected to complete its IPO in May.
The Tencent-backed company is the direct competitor of Huya, which listed in the U.S. last year, HuaJiao and PandaTV, which collapsed in May. It has the license to livestream Tencent’s “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” (PUBG) and another 28 online games.
DouYu, which plays out on PC and mobile platforms, positions itself a crucial part of the gaming and eSports ecosystems. “DouYu brings together a deep pool of top live streamers. By providing a sustainable streamer development system built on advanced technology infrastructure and capabilities, DouYu helps ensure a consistent supply of quality content. Through collaborations with a variety of participants across the eSports value chain, the Company has gained coveted access to a wide variety of premium eSports content, which further attracts viewers and enhances user experience,” it said in a statement on Wednesday.
In 2018 it lost $127 million (RMB876 million). But in the first quarter of this year made a profit of $4.10 million (RMB18.2 million).
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