PE fund co-founded by Jack Ma also major investor in Media Asia

SHANGHAI - Hong Kong-based media conglomerate eSun Holdings Ltd unveiled on Thursday its new entertainment arm, Media Asia Group Holdings Ltd, after completing the buyout of film production and distribution company Rojam Entertainment Holdings Ltd.

The move will allow the company to provide "a new corporate image", which benefits the future development of the group and all shareholders, the company said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on July 20.

Yunfeng Fund, a Chinese private equity fund co-founded by Internet business guru Jack Ma, is the second-largest shareholder, next to eSun, in the HK$490 million ($62.9 million) deal conducted in June.

According to the announcement, the major shareholders in Media Asia so far are eSun, which holds 54.68 percent of the shares, Yunfeng 18.28 percent and Sina Corp 3.25 percent.

Before the purchase, eSun, which came on board as a partner of Rojam in July 2000, bought the 13 percent held by Lark International Multimedia Ltd, part of the Lark Group that runs Hong Kong's UA Cinemas, boosting its equity to 39 percent in 2001.

Since its establishment in 1994, Media Asia has produced or co-financed over 60 Chinese-language films, including critically acclaimed blockbusters such as The Warlords, The Assembly, The Banquet, and Initial D.

ESun's enlarged share stake is expected to mean that it will work more closely with Media Asia, which implies it will work on the fast expansion of Media Asia's cinemas in China's first-tier cities and launching new media platforms.

Peter Lam, executive director of eSun, said his company is excited about this joint investment with Yunfeng, given China's robust economic performance and huge market potential in the film and entertainment industry.

Established in April 2010, Yunfeng Fund focuses on investing in Internet, consumer and new-energy enterprises in China.

It has a history of investment in the media industry. Apart from the Shenzhen-listed media group Huayi Brothers Media Corp, Yunfeng has taken a 16 percent stake in Sohu.com, one of the largest Internet portals by user numbers, which owns Sogou.com, a Chinese search engine launched in August 2004.

China's online game operator Tencent Holdings Ltd backed Yunfeng as one of its investors, according to Yu Feng, co-founder of the company, with the minimum amount of $10 million for the first phase. Yunfeng and Tencent have jointly explored new areas for investment, such as the group purchase site Gaopeng.com in February.

Based on a study released by the China Film Association Research Center in May, the film industry saw $1.5 billion in box-office receipts in 2010, compared with $309 million five years ago. Of that total, domestic movies accounted for $890 million, or 56.36 percent.

The burgeoning movie industry has sparked a "back to the cinema" revival in many cities.

In 2010, the industry expanded the number of film screens nationwide to 6,200, up 1,500 from the previous year.

Hou Tao, vice-president of EntGroup, a domestic entertainment consulting company, forecast the overall box office revenue will hit 15 billion yuan this year and that the country is likely to overtake Japan to become No 2 worldwide in box-office receipts by the end of 2012.

However, chairman of Huayi Brothers Media Group, Wang Zhongjun, said money is not the problem - the film industry is desperate for creative talent.

Feng Xiaogang, a renowned movie director in the country, said at the 14th Shanghai International Film Festival that because China has a shortage of people skilled in specialized productions involving audio and visual effects, imported advanced equipment goes to waste because technicians cannot exploit its full capabilities.

Huang Ying contributed to this story.