iPinYou Announces Completion of Pre-IPO Financing, Aiming at International Cross Border Market

BEIJING, Dec. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --iPinYou, China's largest programmatic buying DSP, today announced that the company has restructured to become a Chinese company, paving the way for its return to the local capital market.  At the same time, the company has completed a 500 million RMB ($78 million equivalent) round of financing from an investor group led by China Mobile Innovation Industry Fund, which was established by China Mobile and State Development & Investment Corporation, Beiguang Wenzi Gehua Fund and Shenzhen Capital Group. Upon completion of the financing, iPinYou will take advantage of the access to local capital market to create a more developed ecosystem, strengthen its market leadership position through industry consolidations and acquisitions, and accelerate its strategic expansion into mobile, TV and outdoor segments. In addition, the company plans to expand its global presence.

As the market leader, iPinYou has attracted a great deal of attention as a result of this decision. Grace Huang, founder and CEO of iPinYou, said, "Returning to the Chinese capital market was a difficult choice for iPinYou. After extensive discussions with secondary market investors, however, we found the investors are very enthusiastic about our business and leadership. iPinYou is not only a leading Chinese advertising technology company but also a big data pioneer in the digital marketing sector. Advertising programmatic buying has entered into a period of rapid development and the industry landscape has taken shape. We are confident that we can further accelerate the development of iPinYou and establish overall market leadership by returning to the Chinese capital market."

iPinYou completed the new round of financing, which is said to be the largest single round ever in the Chinese advertising technology sector. Grace Huang explained that among the many potential investors who showed strong interest, iPinYou ultimately chose those who can provide a strategic complement to the company's business.  China Mobile Innovation Industry Fund, which was set up jointly by China Mobile and the State Development & Investment Corporation and is focused on investing in the most promising business sectors, acts as lead investor. Other participating investors include Beiguang Wenzi Gehua Fund, which was established jointly by Radio Beijing Corporation, Beijing Wenzi Investment Fund and Beijing Gehua CATV Network. Shenzhen Capital Group, a group that has invested in more than a hundred Chinese listed companies, is one of the strongest and most influential investment firms in China.

Grace Huang said that the company will accelerate and expand its international business.  Cross border marketing is in high demands.  Foreign brands are most challenged in terms of reaching consumers in China and local Chinese brands are looking for efficient ways to market abroad. The BorderX team, led by iPinYou CTO Shen Xuehua, made major accomplishments in cross-border e-commerce marketing over the past year.  iPinYou will launch a more fledged globalization efforts in 2016.

iPinYou's Grace Huang said that the Chinese securities market is now at a point of innovation, providing more options and possibilities for Internet companies, such as iPinYou.  The company will also look for their next capital opportunity, focusing on the capital sectors that are a better fit for Internet companies that have reached a higher level of maturity.

About iPinYou:

Founded in 2008, iPinYou, with the largest programmatic buying DSP platform in China, is one of the first companies bringing audience-targeted and programmatic buying to China. iPinYou accounts for 59.8% share of China's programmatic buying market focused on serving Branded Advertisers. iPinYou has the country's largest audience measurement database and holds the only software copyright for a smart DSP advertising system in the country. Its independently-developed OPTIMUS™ System is the first smart advertising and optimization platform in China to operate on the basis of ingesting and analyzing massive amounts of data, with the industry's most optimal big data processing capability along with the highest level of scientific research across China's programmatic buying industry. The platform can integrate with all major domestic ad exchange platforms, supporting mobile, PC and video ads as well as cross-platform. iPinYou currently handles on average 18 billion ads daily.

SOURCE iPinYou