Hong Kong’s Animoca Brands raises $4.1m ahead of another IPO

Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands, an entertainment company specializing in blockchain and gaming, has secured US$4.1 million in strategic investments via convertible notes from investors including M7 Asia and Mind Fund.

Photo credit: Animoca Brands

Part of the new funds will be spent to support its new attempt to go public on Euronext or another public exchange by spinning off the assets of its subsidiaries Pixowl, TSB Gaming, nWay, and Quidd, Animoca Brands said in a statement.

The company did an initial public offering in Australia in 2014, but it got delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange in March this year because of “certain governance items, involvement in cryptocurrency-related activities and substantial use of SAFEs issued by subsidiaries.”

“We believe it is in the best interests of the company and of its shareholders for Animoca Brands to be listed on a public exchange, and we are pursuing available options,” Animoca Brands co-founder and chairman Yat Siu told Tech in Asia, adding that more information will be shared once available.

How much traction has it gotten? Now, the company said it has achieved record-high revenue of US$7.3 million in the first four months of this year, with the month of April alone seeing US$3 million in revenue.

Its blockchain products demonstrated a strong performance amid the Covid-19 pandemic, thanks to the sales of tokenized game assets, Yat Siu said.

Some of the gaming brands in its portfolio include The Sandbox, Crazy Defense Heroes, Formula 1, Marvel, Power Rangers, MotoGP, and Doraemon, among others.

In addition, the company’s health and fitness subsidiary OliveX has recently lodged its prospectus for a public listing on the National Stock Exchange of Australia.

Launched in 2017, OliveX’s offerings include gamified health and fitness programs and an AI smart fitness mirror called Kara Mirror. Its apps have seen around 2 million downloads. The startup has also achieved US$271,ooo in revenue for the half year ending on June 30, according to its prospectus.

Last year, it raised US$1 million in funding from strategic investors including Alabaster and Antanas Guoga.

What are its future plans? Animoca Brands has a couple of major launches coming up later this year, including The Sandbox and F1 Delta Time. Yat Siu said both games represent innovation in the areas of true digital ownership and play-to-earn, a model adopted by blockchain games to create digital collectibles with real-world value.

There are also upcoming new products from its subsidiaries, including casual games by Gamee and some hardcore games from nWay.

What is its funding history? In 2011, the company raised an undisclosed amount of series A round led by Intel Capital and IDG-Accel. It was followed by a strategic investment from Chinese game development firm Forgame Holdings in 2013.