Jeffrey Chan, Bona Film Group COO, shares his thoughts on film financing at the Film Finance Forum Toronto in Toronto, Canada. (Photo : Getty Images)
An estimated $360 million (RMB2.5 billion) was raised in the latest funding round, led by China's two tech giants, Alibaba and Tencent, for Bona Film Group, a leading Chinese distribution and film production company.
An article by Variety.com said that the funding round would bring the company's valuation to $2.15 billion (RMB15 billion), which was more than double the value of the company when it left the NASDAQ stock market in April this year.
Several other companies participated in the funding round which includes China Development Bank Capital Corp. (CDB Capital), CITIC GoldStone Investment, CMB International, giant bank ICBC, Zhongzhi Enterprise, and Macrolink Group. Fosun International, an existing Bona investor, also joined in funding round.
In April, when Bona went private, Bona's founder and CEO Yu Dong was joined by investors that included Alibaba Pictures Group, Tencent, Sequoia Capital, Fosun International and SAIF Investments, the report said.
Bona is credited for producing and distributing films such as "The Taking of Tiger Mountain," the Chinese remake of "Bride Wars," and Ang Lee's "Billy Lynn's Long Half Time Walk."
In 2010, Bona joined NASDAQ and became the first Chinese film company to list on an overseas stock market. However, rival companies listed in China and Hongkong have surpassed Bona's valuation, as Chinese equities lost its attraction with U.S. investors.
Investment insiders expect Bona to relist its shares on the Chinese stock exchange in the near future, the report said.
Bona was also one of the first Chinese companies to use film funds in China. In November last year, the company announced its partnership with The Seelig Group, to co-finance a series of Fox movies that includes "The Martian."
Although Bona has delisted from the American bourse, it is not leaving American market, which currently has a larger market than those in China.
The company has established an office in Los Angeles and will start its operations in May next year, according to a report by China Film Insider.
The company has just finished setting up an office in Los Angeles, and will begin operations there in May, according to the report. Every three months, Yu, Bona's CEO, has been visiting L.A. to meet with entertainment industry executives.
