Alibaba Pictures online movie ticketing platform raises 1.7 billion yuan

A group of investors led by CDH Investments, Ant Financial Services Group and Sina.com have invested about 1.7 billion yuan ($260 million) on Alibaba Pictures'online movie ticketing platform.

"The investment (the first round of financing for the platform) gives the company's online movie ticketing business an estimated evaluation of 13.7 billion yuan," said the Hong Kong-listed Alibaba Pictures in a press release on Sunday.

The online movie ticketing platform, named Taobao Dianying, was launched at the end of 2014 and it provides online ticketing services to more than 5,000 Chinese cinemas, contributing to about 95 percent of China's box office revenue.

Alibaba Pictures said the proceeds from this transaction will be used to sustain its online movie ticketing platform's operations and further strengthen its position in a competitive and fast developing business segment.

Being integrated into Alibaba Pictures at the end of 2015, the online movie ticketing unit has grown into an internet-enabled promotion and distribution platform for entertainment industry.