CATDOLL: Pleasant Goat's parent company Alpha Animation acquires YouYaoQi for 900 million

On the evening of August 11, Alpha Animation, which produced animation series such as "Fire Boy King" and "Pleasant Goat", issued an announcement that it had signed an acquisition framework agreement with major shareholders of Beijing April Star Network Technology Co., Ltd. (YouYaoQi). Alpha Animation will purchase 100% of the equity of Beijing April Star Company through a "cash + stock" transaction method, with a total transaction price of approximately RMB 904 million. Among them, 328 million yuan will be paid in shares and 576 million yuan in cash.

Beijing April Star Network Technology Co., Ltd. was formally established in May 2009, and launched the original comic website "YouYaoQi (www.u17.com)" in October of the same year. Before the acquisition, YouYaoQi's shareholders were the founders Zhou Jingqi, Dong Zhiling, Yu Xianghua, and Beijing Juming Chengzhi, a company used for core employee shareholding, in addition to Shanda Network, Shanghai Youjia Fund, China Cultural Industry Investment Fund, Boxin Optimization, Northern Lights Venture Capital Fund, and Beijing Innovation Ark Technology (Innovation Works).

Among these shareholders, Shanda, China Culture Investment Fund, Boxin, Northern Lights, and Innovation Works have all made investments in the animation and pan-entertainment fields.

For example, Boxin has invested in Hippo Animation (which has already withdrawn); China Cultural Industry Investment Fund has invested in projects such as Xuan Ji, Jun Meng, Huanrui, X.D. Network, CTS, Happy Twist, Modern Sky, and Weying Times; Shanda once tried to build an online Disney, and its actions will not be repeated here; Innovation Works has invested in Baozou Comics, SNH48, Fanfan Comics, Zhuizhui Comics, and Qiushi Encyclopedia, etc.

Alpha Animation said that through this acquisition, April Star will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. April Star focuses on the Internet animation copyright business, takes advantage of the large Internet platform, actively explores and cultivates potential authors of Chinese original comics, and creates star comic products and cartoon images. After the completion of this acquisition, the company will further improve its IP matrix system, extend it to the Internet platform animation copyright business, explore and develop more high-quality IP, and create more animation and film and television works. The company and April Star will form complementary promotion in terms of customer resources, brand publicity, copyright image, marketing promotion, etc., so as to enrich and improve the company's overall business system, optimize the company's full industry chain ecological strategic layout with IP as the core, and enhance the company's overall competitiveness.