- Sony Corp is spending $400 million to buy a minority stake in the Chinese online entertainment platform Bilibili
Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE) is spending $400 million to buy a minority stake in the Chinese online entertainment platform Bilibili Inc (NASDAQ: BILI), according to Variety. This deal values Bilibili at $8 billion.
Sony is conducting the deal through Sony Corporation of America. As part of the deal, SCA will gain 17.3 million Bilibili shares — which is slightly less than 5% of Bilibili’s capital.
Bilibili’s stock is traded in American depositary receipt (ADRs) in the U.S. on the NASDAQ exchange. Before this deal was announced, the company’s stock was trading at under $24. And now it is trading at between $26.50-$27.
Upon the completion of the deal, the companies will sign an agreement for pursuing entertainment collaboration opportunities in China especially in the anime and mobile gaming markets. Bilibiliis’s offerings include videos, live broadcasting, and mobile games.
“The strategic investment and business cooperation (by Sony) further align our goals to bring best-in-class content offerings and services to our users, as we increase our (Chinese) domestic stronghold in animation and mobile games,” said Bilibili chairman and CEO Rui Chen.
At the end of 2019, Bilibili was hitting around 130 million monthly average users and 37.9 million daily active users. The company generates revenue through paid subscriptions using a “freemium” model.
