China's video platform Bilibili announces $400m investment from Sony

SHANGHAI -- China's popular video sharing platform Bilibili announced on Thursday that it will receive approximately $400 million equity investment from Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation.

SCA will subscribe for newly issued Class Z ordinary shares of Bilibili. The transaction is expected to close on or before April 10, 2020. Upon the closing, SCA will beneficially own about 4.98 percent of Bilibili's total issued shares.

Bilibili and Sony will further pursue collaboration opportunities of the entertainment business in the Chinese market, including anime and mobile games, according to Bilibili.

"The strategic investment and business cooperation further align with our goals to bring best-in-class content offerings and services to our users as we increase our domestic stronghold in animation and mobile games," said Chen Rui, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Bilibili.

"We look forward to joining efforts on a broader scale to fulfill the tremendous and growing entertainment needs in China," said Chen.