Iflix, a Malaysia-headquartered over-the-top (OTT) video streaming platform, has secured a new round of investment led by Fidelity International, a global asset manager with USD 379.2 billion under management.
Other investors include some of Asia’s established media companies such as Indonesia’s MNC, Japan’s Yoshimoto Kogyo, and South Korea’s JTBC. Iflix’s stakeholders, Catcha Group, Sky, EMC, and Hearst also participated in the funding round.
The total investment amount was not disclosed, but Iflix revealed through an official statement that it exceeds USD 50 million.
The new funds will allow Iflix to grow its userbase, which expanded from 9 million in late 2018 to 17 million in May 2019.
This funding round came as Iflix prepares for an initial public offering on the Australian Securities Exchange. It is believed to be working towards a late 2019 listing date, reports Financial Review.
Iflix’s service is available throughout Southeast Asia and some Asian and Middle Eastern countries. It sold its African business last December to focus on core Asian markets, specifically Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. In these markets, Iflix’s greatest competitors are HOOQ and Netflix. Unlike Netflix which has only paid subscribers, Iflix and Hooq have adopted a freemium business model where there’s some content available for free while premium content requires a subscription.