China-headquartered outdoor advertising company Focus Media intends to form four separate investment funds, each of which will be sized at up to RMB500m ($75m), China Money Network reported today.
Focus will establish each of the funds in partnership with an institutional investor, including a unit of venture capital and private equity firm Zero2IPO, and VC firm Fortune Venture Capital. The corporate will provide a maximum of half the capital for each one.
The funds will target startups operating in the internet, technology, entertainment, education and travel sectors, and in particular companies able to provide an upgrade on current consumer or service offerings in the Chinese market.
Focus went public in 2015 through a reverse merger that valued it at more than $8bn. It formed a $400m fund with private equity firm FountainVest Partners in April this year that will concentrate on the sports sector, a burgeoning area for Chinese investors.
News of the company’s plans emerged at the same time as Focus announced it plans to issue RMB1.89bn ($283m) in short-term bonds and another RMB1.89bn in medium-term notes.