Acquisition Values Livestreaming Platform Inke's Operator at USD930 Million
Tang Shihua
DATE:  Sep 05 2017
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
Acquisition Values Livestreaming Platform Inke's Operator at USD930 Million Acquisition Values Livestreaming Platform Inke's Operator at USD930 Million

(Yicai Global) Sept. 5 -- Beijing Milaiwu Network Technology Co. (Milaiwu), the operator of leading Chinese livestreaming platform Inke, is valued at USD930 million (CNY6.06 billion), per the latest transaction plan released by its acquirer, Shunya International Brand Consulting Beijing Co. [SHE:300612].

Milaiwu's appraised value is CNY6.06 billion, Shunya International said in its acquisition plan yesterday.

That figure is lower than Milaiwu's CNY7 billion valuation from last September when Beijing Kunlun Tech Co. [SHE:300418] sold a 3-percent stake in the company as the livestreaming industry boomed.

Shunya International plans to buy a 48.25-percent stake in Milaiwu from Inke's founders and other shareholders for CNY2.89 billion cash. Shunya International said it will become Milaiwu's largest shareholder upon completion of the deal.

Shunya International and its affiliates will collectively own more than 92.34 percent of Milaiwu after the deal is completed.

Most of Inke's early backers choose to exit the company via the latest deal. Tencent Holdings Ltd.'s [HK:0700] Shenzhen Tencent Entrepreneurship Base Development Co. did not, opting to hold its 0.91-percent stake in Inke.

Inke had more than 100,000 livestream hosts and over 20 million monthly active users who spent an average of 36,010,600 hours per month on the platform last year, Shunya International said.

Inke had a net profit of CNY480 million and revenue of CNY4.34 billion last year. Its main sources of income were the cut it takes on tips and its advertising business. Inke's revenue and net profit were CNY1.04 billion and CNY244 million, respectively, in the first three months of this year. Inke is nearing Momo Inc. [NASDAQ:MOMO], another leading player in the industry, in terms of revenue and profitability.

Some 210 users added more than CNY1 million to their Inke accounts last year, and 409 added between CNY500,000 and CNY1 million. Some 32 users added over CNY1 million from January to March this year.

Hosts drive users to splurge, but make up a large proportion of Inke's total operating costs. Inke paid hosts CNY2.48 billion last year, and that cost reached CNY510 million in the first three months of this year.

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Keywords:   M&A,Live Broadcasting,Social Media,Inke,Shunya