Ant Financial, the payment services affiliate of e-commerce group Alibaba, and internet company Sina Corp have co-led a RMB13.7bn ($260m) series A round for online ticketing platform Taobao Movie, Reuters reported yesterday.
CDH Investments also co-led the round, which valued the unit at $2.1bn. Media companies Bona Film Group, Hehe Pictures, Huace Media and undisclosed other Chinese entertainment companies also took part in the round, according to a regulatory filing.
Alibaba acquired a 60% majority stake in TV and film production business ChinaVision Media in 2014 for $805m and shortly thereafter renamed the company Alibaba Pictures. The division’s Taobao Movie unit lets users book tickets for films at more than 5,000 cinemas across China.
The money will help Taobao Movie strengthen its market position and compete with a host of rival offerings such as Weying Technology, the operator of mobile ticketing app Wepiao, which closed a corporate-backed $693m series C+ round last month.
Shao Xiaofeng, chairman of Alibaba Pictures, said: “The proceeds from this transaction will be used to sustain its operations and further strengthen its market position in a competitive and fast-developing business segment.”