Asian content streaming service provider iflix has secured at least US$50 million from Fidelity International and other backers, with the global asset manager offering its support for the business as a cornerstone investor.
It comes after the company earlier this year hired Macquarie Capital and UBS for a potential initial public offering on the Australian Securities Exchange.
The funds were secured as part of a pre-IPO funding round for the business that operates through South East Asia.
iflix was founded in 2015 by rich lister Patrick Grove, Luke Elliott and former Nine Entertainment executive Mark Britt and offers both free and subscription services, with 17 million active users as of May 2019, up from 9 million and 6 months earlier.
Fidelity International is a global asset manager with US$379.2bn under management.
Other investors contributing to the US$50m raise are Indonesia’s MNC, Japan’s Yoshimoto Kogyo, and South Korea’s JTBC.
Existing investors, including Mr Grove, who founded Catcha Group, and strategic shareholders, including Hearst, Sky and EMC, also participated in the pre-IPO funding round.
The successful funding round offers iflix funds to pursue growth and increase its user base.
“These investments are a clear affirmation of iflix’s business model and growth prospects and strengthens our ties to some of the region’s largest providers of local content,” said iflix Co-Founder and Chairman, Patrick Grove.
“We have a strong pipeline of new content and are excited to be making our most extensive ever content offering available to our millions of users across the region.”
iflix offers its streaming services to consumers in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, with the service also covering Brunei, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
In terms of price aspirations, it is understood that iflix had earlier been aiming to list as a business worth about $1bn.
The Asia-based video-on-demand company was launched by rich-lister Patrick Grove and is run by former Nine Entertainment executive Mark Britt.
It had plans for a listing in Australia about four years ago, but those plans were abandoned and the group instead turned its attention to the US market.
iflix Asia has been mulling a listing as tech stocks remain on a high.
It sits within Mr Grove’s Catcha Group empire.
Since inception, Catcha Group has executed five initial public offerings in nine years, including the listing of iProperty Group, iCar Asia, Ensogo and Frontier Digital Ventures, all listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Investors in its companies include News Corp (publisher of The Australian), REA Group, Carsales.com, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and BlackRock.
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