(CFI) Maoyan, China’s market-leading mobile ticketing service, is planning to go public, according to Wang Changtian, the founder, and chairman of Enlight Media, which controls the popular app.
Speaking at the Shanghai International Film Festival, Wang said that Maoyan expects to turn a profit this year and is aiming for an IPO, according to local media reports.
The potential listing is still a few years off — Chinese companies are required to achieve profitability for three years before they can apply to list on the main boards of China’s domestic stock exchanges.
Maoyan was spun off from its e-commerce parent company Meituan-Dianping in April 2016. One month later, Beijing-based studio Enlight Media bought a 57.4 percent stake in the ticketing app for RMB 2.38 billion in cash and six percent of its shares.
China’s emergent mobile ticketing platforms including Maoyan (猫眼), Weying (微影时代), Tao Piaopiao (淘票票), and Baidu Nuomi (百度糯米) — have been fighting for market share since coming onto the scene just five years ago.
The scramble to grow their platforms and secure a consumer base has transformed the industry, with between 70 to 80 percent of all movie tickets sold in the country now coming from online platforms, according to some estimates.
In February, Chinese investment banking firm CEC Capital Group said the highly fragmented online ticketing market was ripe for consolidation this year.
Source: China Film Insider by Fergus Ryan