Chinese entertainment company Huyai Brothers Media Corporation has acquired a 20% stake in mobile online game company Hero Entertainment for $288 million.
The purchase values Hero Entertainment at around $1.4 billion, 19 times Hero Entertainment's estimated net profit for 2016.
As part of the investment, Hero Entertainment has committed to a profit goal of $74.9 million in 2016, with its targets increasing by 20% each year.
Other investors in the company include Sequoia Capital, Huaxing Fund, ZhenFund and real estate tycoon Wang Jianlin's son Wang Sicong. Its largest stakeholder is Tianjin Dinuo Investment Management, which owns 44% of the firm.
Teaming up
The investment means that Huyai Brothers now has a foothold in the eSports market, as it looks to expand its business across all aspects of gaming.
Hero Entertainment is the developer behind eSports titles such as Crisis Action, a mobile FPS which the studio brought to the West from China in 2015.
It is also the organiser of a major mobile eSports tournament in China, the Hero Pro League, as well as a sponsor of Heroes Alliance, a China-wide mobile eSports games association.