China-based online ticketing platform Maoyan set the terms today for an initial public offering that could raise up to $344m, giving corporates Tencent, Enlight Media and Meituan Dianping an exit, Reuters reported.
The company is set to issue 132.4 million shares priced between HK$14.80 and HK$20.40 ($1.89 to $2.60) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters. The size of the IPO could increase to $396m if Maoyan takes up the greenshoe option.
Maoyan operates an online platform that sells cinema tickets, having been spun off from Meituan, the group buying business later merged with local listings platform Dianping.
The company remains the exclusive film ticket vendor on Meituan Dianping’s local services platform, and had 130 million monthly active users as of its IPO filing in September 2018.
The size of the proposed offering is markedly lower than suggested by earlier reports, which indicated the company may potentially have been looking to raise up to $1bn. Sources told Reuters it reduced the size due to a lack of investor interest and concerns about valuations.
Film production company Enlight acquired a 57.4% stake in Maoyan in 2016, through what the IPO filing revealed was approximately $730m in cash and shares, shortly after it had formally spun out of Meituan Dianping.
Maoyan merged with rival service Weiying, which had raised just over $1bn from investors including internet group Tencent, property developer Dalian Wanda, trading group Shanghai Gangtai and game publisher iDreamSky, in September 2017.
Ocean Capital Group, China Everbright, Wenzi Huasha, GGV Capital, Beijing Cultural Assets Fund, CMC Holdings, Shandong Luxin Investment Holdings and eCapital were also existing investors in Weiying, and Tencent invested a further $150m in Maoyan Weiying at the time of the deal.
Enlight remains Maoyan’s largest shareholder, with a 48.8% stake, while a holding entity representing Weiying owns 20.6%, Tencent 16.3% and Meituan Dianping 8.6%.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and China Renaissance are the joint sponsors of the offering.
