China-based venture capital firm Fortune Capital’s yuan-denominated vehicle, Chuanghong Fund, reached a RMB5.5bn ($858m) first close on Friday with backing from limited partners including several corporate investors.
Mass media group Hunan TV & Broadcast Intermediary, soymilk machine producer Joyoung and property developers Century Golden Resources Group and Country Garden all made commitments to the fund.
Financial services providers China Merchants Bank and Ping An Bank also contributed to the vehicle, as did the firm’s management team, funds of funds run by Gopher Asset Management and Zero2IPO Group, and unnamed family offices and government-backed asset management firms.
Hunan TV & Broadcast Intermediary is Fortune Capital’s majority shareholder and injected over 10% of the capital for Chuanghong Fund’s first close. The fundraising efforts began in the third quarter of 2020 and it is targeting roughly $1bn for a final close.
Also known as Fortune Venture Capital, the firm was founded in 2000 with capital from Hunan TV & Broadcast Intermediary. The latter had gone public the year before in an initial public offering facilitated by Fortune founder and chairman Liu Zhou.
The firm now manages more than $5.6bn of assets, having backed in excess of 600 traditional and technology companies and scored 205 exits. Its Chuangtong Fund reached a $667m final close in 2019 and its LPs included Century Golden Resources Group. It had previously raised RMB3bn for its Chuanglian Fund three years earlier.
