- The
global experience entertainment company gets a S$235 million shot in the arm,
closes its private fund raising in April 2021
- Investors
both new and existing include Singapore's Pavilion Capital, Seatown Holdings
International and EDBI, Qatar's Doha Venture Capital and financial institutions
and family offices in Singapore and China
- These
now join other existing Cityneon shareholders CITIC Capital, veteran
entrepreneur and investor Mr. Johnson Ko, and Executive Chairman & Group
CEO Mr. Ron Tan
- Funding
comes just after the Group acquired multi-year licensing rights for James
Cameron's AVATAR touring exhibition, and two original artefacts IP on the
ancient civilization Machu Picchu from Peru and Ramses the Great (Ramses II)
from Egypt
- Investments
position the Group well to bring experiences across the globe, targeting to
launch six experiences in China and five in the U.S. by the end of 2021, with
more in other parts of the world
SINGAPORE - Media
OutReach - 21 April 2021 - Cityneon Holdings ("Cityneon", the
"Company"/collectively with its subsidiaries, the "Group") raised S$235 million
in the most recent round of private funding. The latest round of funding adds
seasoned investors to Cityneon's already strong stable of shareholders.
This funding round was led by Singapore's Pavilion Capital, Seatown
Holdings International, EDBI, and Cityneon's Executive Chairman & Group
CEO, Mr. Ron Tan. EDBI and Pavilion Capital are existing shareholders of
Cityneon whilst new investors include Seatown Holdings International, Qatar's
Doha Venture Capital, which will now own approximately 4 per cent of the Group,
and other financial institutions and family offices in Singapore and China.
These now join other existing Cityneon shareholders CITIC Capital,
veteran entrepreneur and investor Mr. Johnson Ko, and Executive Chairman &
Group CEO Mr. Ron Tan to form a new and strong shareholder base for the Group.
Mr. Johnson Ko and Mr. Ron Tan remain as the largest shareholders of the
company via their combined entity, West Knighton Limited.
The Group is now well positioned for its next growth chapter and will use
the proceeds for capital expenditure that includes building more of its various
intellectual property (IP) exhibition sets, totaling 24 travelling and four
semi-permanent sets under the Studio IP partnerships and three travelling sets
under the original artefact IP partnerships by the end of 2022.
Already, the Group just signed its fifth IP rights with Avatar from 20th
Century Studios last year. Amidst the anticipation from Avatar fans worldwide,
Cityneon will debut a multi-sensory Avatar exhibition in Chengdu, China in May
2021, ahead of the Avatar movie sequel which is slated for release in 2022.
Avatar is the world's top grossing film of all time after its successful
re-release in China in March 2021. Avatar's director James Cameron has
announced that he will be producing four sequels with 20th Century Studios, with the first
sequel slated for release next year.
The Company also recently entered the original artefacts IPs space and
will stage international exhibitions of the treasures of the ancient civilization
Machu Picchu from Peru in Boca Raton, Florida and Pharaoh Ramses II from Egypt
in Houston, Texas. These two experiences will start welcoming visitors in October
and November 2021, respectively.
Other IP rights that the Group holds include partnerships with Universal
Studios for Jurassic World: The Exhibition, Marvel for Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N.,
Lionsgate for The Hunger Games: The Exhibition and Hasbro for Transformers
Autobot Alliance. All in, Cityneon holds the IP rights for five of the top 10
worldwide box office hits and two artefacts IP from Peru and Egypt. The Group
expects to have six sets of its various IP rights travelling across China, and
five travelling and permanent sets in the United States, with a few more in
other parts of the globe.
The Group will also be reopening experiences that were temporarily closed
in 2020, aiming to provide visitors with a safe entertainment option. These
include the Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. in Toronto, Canada that will be
re-opening in May 2021; and the Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. exhibition in
Lotte Mall in Seoul, Korea in April 2021; the same exhibition space which
previously housed Jurassic World: The Exhibition, another IP experience
exhibition by the Group in 2019. In the past month, the Group also witnessed
record visitor numbers at their semi-permanent installations in Las Vegas, USA,
signaling a strong comeback and demand for their immersive experiences, as they
step into the 6th year of operations there.
While there are exciting plans lined up, the Group is not resting on its
laurels. More Hollywood IPs and artefact IPs can be expected, and there will be
further announcements on new IP verticals in entertainment experiences that the
Group is looking to enter.
Mr. Ron Tan, Executive Chairman & Group CEO of Cityneon said, "It is
exciting that the Company is going through such strategic expansion as one of
the largest providers of exhibition entertainment experiences globally. The
S$235 million funding round sets a solid foundation for us to invest in
developing more of our entertainment experiences, to stage even more
exhibitions of the five box office hits and two artefact IPs that we hold the rights
to all over the world. I'm thankful that our strong investors base, now from
Singapore, Hong Kong, China and the Middle East, have trust in our vision, and
believe alongside us that this space of big ideas and big experiences will only
grow."
By the end of this year, Cityneon will arguably be the largest provider
of exhibition entertainment experiences internationally; with global footprints
in more than 50 cities and welcoming 10 million unique visitors across the
world by 2022.
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