This celebrity capital feast, which has attracted much attention due to the presence of founder Wu Qilong and shareholder Liu Shishi and Zhao Liying, has finally begun.
Trading of the shares will begin on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange at 9 a.m. on January 15.
After more than four years, Straw Bear is fighting for an IPO again, and the market environment has changed dramatically.
According to the Frost & Sullivan Report, in terms of the number of first-run TV series in 2019, Straw Bear ranked fourth among all TV series producers and distributors in China, with a market share of 6.0%.
In terms of revenue, Straw Bear Pictures ranks sixth in the industry, with a market share of 1.7%.
No matter from which angle you look at it, Straw Bear is a film and television company sample with great analytical reference value.
Deeply bound to iQiyi: The risks and hidden dangers of "Platform X Film and Television Company" This is a long and tortuous listing story.
In 2014, Wu Qilong founded Straw Bear Entertainment.
In December 2015, Liu Shishi acquired a 20% stake in Straw Bear Pictures for 2 million yuan, and Zhao Liying acquired a 1% stake in Straw Bear Pictures for 100,000 yuan.
In March 2016, Baofeng Group planned to acquire 60% of the equity of Straw Bear Pictures for a consideration of 1.08 billion yuan. Liu Shishi would receive a total of 216 million in cash and stock. This "betrothal gift" with a hundredfold increase in income calculated the valuation of Straw Bear at that time.
Reached 1.8 billion.
However, in June of that year, the China Securities Regulatory Commission rejected the acquisition on the grounds that "the profitability of the target company is highly uncertain and does not comply with the relevant provisions of the "Administrative Measures for Major Asset Reorganization of Listed Companies".
After its dream of being listed on the A-share market was shattered, Straw Bear tried to join hands with Alibaba Pictures.
In December 2016, Alibaba Pictures Fund invested in the Series A round of Straw Bear and obtained approximately 15% of the shares with a capital of 225 million. Based on this calculation, the valuation of Straw Bear is 1.5 billion.
Subsequently, Alibaba Pictures Fund chose to withdraw in August 2018, and outsiders speculated that the reason was that its performance did not meet its requirements.
On July 20, 2020, Straw Bear Pictures submitted a prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Five months later, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange website showed that it had passed the hearing.
The prospectus information shows that in Straw Bear’s pre-listing shareholder structure, the controlling shareholder is Liu Xiaofeng (58.41%), and other shareholders are iQiyi (19.57%), Liu Shishi (14.8%), Zhao Liying (0.79%), and Zhai Fang
(6.43%).
According to the voting arrangement, Liu Xiaofeng can exercise 80.43% of the voting rights.
The shares held by Liu Shishi are the joint property of Wu Qilong and Liu Shishi after their marriage.
There are rumors from the outside that Liu Xiaofeng, who has served as the chief producer in Wu Qilong's drama series such as "The Legend of Shushan" and "The Legend of the White-haired Witch", holds shares on behalf of Wu Qilong.
A shareholding structure chart involves a series of projects.
For example, dramas such as "The Legend of Chu Qiao" and "The Legend of Shushan" starring Zhao Liying, as well as "Drunken Linglong" starring Liu Shishi were all produced by Straw Bear Pictures.
In terms of IP resource reserves, Straw Bear currently has 30 IPs, including 6 original scripts and 24 adapted scripts.
70% of the funds raised from this listing will be used for drama production, with key projects being costume dramas such as "Fu Tu Yuan", "Moon Song Xing" and "The Prince of Allure".
This equity structure chart also shows that iQiyi, as the second largest shareholder of Straw Bear, has achieved deep binding through shareholding. It is not only the largest shareholder, but also the largest customer, the main distribution channel, and the first
Big supplier.
Their cooperative relationship can be traced back to the "one drama, two stars" policy in 2015, which was beneficial to the explosion of self-made dramas and online drama markets. The two parties created the "online first and backstage" broadcast model for the first time in China. In 2018 and 2020, Ai
Qiyi holds shares through its subsidiary Taurus Holding and has made two rounds of investment in Straw Bear, totaling US$55.14 million.
In 2017, iQiyi contributed 116 million yuan in revenue to Straw Bear, accounting for 21.4% of the company’s total revenue.
Since 2018, iQiyi has become Straw Bear’s largest customer, contributing 245 million yuan and 209 million yuan in revenue in 2018 and 2019, accounting for 36.0% and 27.2% of Straw Bear’s total revenue.
In the first half of 2020, iQiyi contributed 401 million yuan in revenue, accounting for 69.2%, still ranking first.
Of the 29 drama series that Straw Bear has aired, 24 use iQiyi as one of its main distribution channels.
In 2018, Straw Bear spent 112 million yuan to purchase episodes from iQiyi, accounting for 16.2% of the total purchase.
In 2019, Straw Bear continued to pay 149 million yuan to iQiyi, accounting for 15.8% of the purchase amount.
The prospectus also shows that in the past three fiscal years of 2017, 2018 and 2019 and the first quarter of 2020, Straw Bear’s operating income was 543 million, 679 million, 765 million and 327 million yuan respectively, and the corresponding net profit
They were RMB 64.03 million, RMB 10.513 million, RMB 50.400 million and RMB 42.891 million respectively.
With most film and television companies facing cash flow concerns, Straw Bear's healthy cash flow situation is not unrelated to the "customized drama" model adopted by the deep-binding leading platform, which puts payment in advance.