Chinese Billionaire's Panda TV to Pull the Plug Amid Cash Flow Issues
Zhang Yushuo
DATE:  Mar 07 2019
/ SOURCE:  yicai
Chinese Billionaire's Panda TV to Pull the Plug Amid Cash Flow Issues Chinese Billionaire's Panda TV to Pull the Plug Amid Cash Flow Issues

(Yicai Global) March 7 -- Panda TV, a Chinese live-streaming platform co-founded by billionaire Wang Sicong, the billionaire owner of esports organization Invictus Gaming, is likely to go offline in about ten days.

Panda TV, run by Panda Mutual Entertainment Culture, is facing bankruptcy and will shut down its server on March 18, Beijing Youth Daily reported today, citing a social media post. The Shanghai-based company has a registered investment of CNY20 million (USD3 million). Wang is the son of Chinese realty tycoon Wang Jianlin behind Dalian Wanda Group.

The company's journey tells a tale of what a liquidity squeeze does to a startup. Wages have been pending since last year, according to Chinese media reports. The number of monthly active users has fallen almost 80 percent to 16.8 million in the past almost two years. Chief Executive Wang sold most of his equity last year and he has not posted anything about the firm since 2016. The company planned to walk in rival game streaming platform Huya's footsteps and go public in 2018, but failed to follow suit. 

In May 2017, Panda TV secured CNY1 billion (USD149 million) in its B round of financing which raised its valuation to CNY5 billion.

Editor: Emmi Laine

Follow Yicai Global on
Keywords:   Panda TV,Live-Streaming