Cityneon bags investment from Singapore's EDBI

Singapore

CITYNEON Holdings has snagged a strategic investment from EDBI, the investment arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board, the company said on Monday, without disclosing the amount.

EDBI now holds a minority stake of around 2.3 per cent in Cityneon, the latter's spokesman told The Business Times (BT).

The fresh funding comes as the experience entertainment firm, recently delisted from the Singapore Exchange (SGX), continues to expand into new markets, including Scotland, India, the United Arab Emirates and China.

Cityneon creates licensed interactive exhibitions based on blockbuster entertainment franchises such as Marvel's Avengers superheroes, Jurassic Park and the Transformers.

EDBI's extensive network will add significant value to the firm's expansion worldwide, Cityneon group chief executive and executive chairman Ron Tan said on Monday. "Today, about 90 per cent of the group's profits are derived from outside of Singapore. We intend to step up our pace of expansion," he added.

Cityneon will also leverage EDBI's strong knowledge and experience in emerging technologies, to come up with new innovations in experience entertainment. These include mixed reality and consumer analytics that will complement Cityneon's mastery of animatronics.

Meanwhile, Cityneon will also expand its headquarters in Singapore by setting up a new creative office, in addition to its existing creative offices in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Group chief creative officer Welby Altidor will relocate to Singapore in 2020 to direct and build the creative team in the city state.

EDBI is the latest shareholder in the company, joining the likes of Citic Capital, Mr Tan, as well as Hong Kong entrepreneur and investor Johnson Ko Chun Shun.

In May, Citic Capital, the investment arm of Chinese state-owned financial conglomerate Citic Group, took a 10 per cent stake in Cityneon. This investment came shortly after Cityneon was privatised in February by Mr Tan and Mr Ko.

Cityneon's spokesman on Monday declined to reveal the company's latest valuation after the EDBI injection. Before its Feb 1 delisting, the company's market capitalisation had hovered around S$316 million.

In an interview with BT in June, Mr Tan said that Cityneon might relist again one day, although it is not a priority for now. "Listing can be in the US, Hong Kong or Singapore, as long as it's a major stock exchange. My priority is always to focus on the fundamentals of the business. Once you have done that, and if the need arises and if market conditions are right, then we go," he told BT then.

On Monday, EDBI's chief executive officer and president Chu Swee Yeok said: "Cityneon is a home-grown company that has successfully transformed itself into an intellectual property (IP) focused global leader in immersive experiential entertainment from their traditional businesses."

The investment in Cityneon is aligned with EDBI's strategic growth programme to support high-growth Singapore-based companies in their expansion plans.

"We look forward to Cityneon's contributions to enhance Singapore's attractiveness as a destination for immersive events while strengthening our design capabilities," Ms Chu said.

Cityneon has partnered global movie studios, including The Walt Disney Company, Marvel, Hasbro, Universal Studios, and Lionsgate. It expects to partner more studios in the coming months for new IPs, which will grant it rights to curate, create and construct exclusive experiences for visitors around the world.

To date, Cityneon has toured its IPs in around 40 cities, and will be entering new cities such as Glasgow in Scotland and Mumbai in India.