Live-streaming Platform Douyu TV Rumored to IPO Next Month at $700 Million

According to Chinese media reports, the popular live-streaming platform Douyu TV, is rumored to go public in Hong Kong next month at a valuation of $700 million.

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Douyu TV was founded in 2013 as the live-streaming division of recently acquired video platform AcFun. Formally known as “AcFun Live”, Douyu TV became an independent platform and subsequently changed its name to “Fighting Fish” in 2015.

The Twitch-equivalent of China received its latest round of investments worth $630 million from Tencent Holdings Inc. in March earlier this year, putting it at a unicorn valuation of over $1 billion according to China Money Network. Previously, it had raised over $500 million in Series D funding rounds from lead investors such as Sequoia Capital, Phoenix Capital, Cmb International and Tencent Holdings.

Another live-streaming platform that received funding from Tencent Holdings on that very day in March is the newly-public HUYA Inc. A subsidiary of YY Inc., HUYA was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in May at a market capitalization of $2 billion according to Forbes.

Douyu was reported as the leading company for the months of August and September 2017 in terms of number of monthly active users, followed by HUYA and Panda TV in data reports collected by Beijing-based research organization analysis. Other players in the live-streaming space in China include Inke Ltd. who reportedly filed for IPO in Hong Kong in March and YY Live, another live-streaming platform under the YY Inc. empire.

In January, Douyu TV was already reported to be preparing for an initial public offering in Hong Kong for investments between $300 million to $400 million. COO Cheng Chao confirmed that the company is preparing for an IPO with no further details in a subsequent interview.

Douyu TV has declined to comment on the new IPO rumors.