Chinese Game Developer Feiyu Technology Files for Hong Kong IPO
Feiyu Technology, a Chinese mobile and web game developer, has filed for an IPO on Hong Kong market. Xiamen Haloer and CAIROT, two of China’s leading game developers, merged together into Feiyu Technology July this year for scale operation. Legendary Chinese angel investor Cai Wensheng is the backer for both of the companies.
Founded in 2009, Xiamen Haloer is the developer of the hugely popular RPG web game Shenxiandao. It then shifted focus to mobile games with the release of a mobile version of Shenxiandao. Other blockbuster games developed by the company include Jiongxiyou and Luanshi.
On the other hand, CAIROT is the operator of casual games Carrot Fantasy and Carrot Fantasy II, which have amassed more than 100 million users since the launch of the franchise in Aug. 2012. The average monthly active user of Carrot Fantasy exceeds 16.90 million in 2013, according to data from iResearch.
According to prospectus released by the company, Feiyu Technology has recorded a revenue of 129 million yuan (around US$21 million) in H1 this year, of which mobile games account for 90 million yuan or 69.6% of the total revenue. Its annual revenue for 2011, 2012 and 2013 are 33.01 million, 158.73 million and 145.05 million yuan, respectively.
As of June 30, 2014, Feiyu Technology’s RPG games have registered 198.55 million users and the monthly active user for this June is around 2.30 million. The total registered user of Feiyu’s casual games is around 173 million with monthly active users for June stands at 22.5 million.
The company has rolled out altogether seven mobile and plans to launch new games like Carrot Fantasy: Magic Forest, Jiongxiyou II, Battery Run, etc. from H2 2014 to 2015. The prospectus mentioned the company’s plans to enrich game categories and expand R&D teams by investment or acquisition.
Feiyu has teamed up with over 300 third-party game distribution platforms, including Baidu, Tencent, 360.cn, 37wan, 91wan, among others.
Yao Jianjun, founder of Haloer and current CEO of Feiyu, is a serial entrepreneur who has founded ChinaZ and online data service CNZZ. Chen Jianyu, founder of CAIROT and president of Feiyu, is the co-founder of photo-centered startup Meitu and has worked on development team of IQ browser.
The privatization drives of Chinese game stocks from US market are fueled by Perfect World, Shanda Games and The9. Against this backdrop, Chinese gaming companies are looking for more investor interests in Hong Kong. Web game developer Forgame went public in Hong Kong market September last year and casual game developer Ourgame followed the suit four months latter. Online game operator Linekong initiated the long-rumored Hong Kong IPO earlier this month.
image credit: Feiyu Technology