New York-listed Chinese video streaming platform Bilibili has announced plans to raise $650 million through the sale of convertible senior notes, as the company seeks more cash to expand its user base.
The notes will mature on June 15, 2027, and can be converted into Bilibili’s American depositary shares (ADS), the company said in a statement published Wednesday.
Bilibili will use the proceeds to enrich content offerings, research and development and other general corporate purposes, the statement said.
The bond sale comes less than two weeks after Bilibili said its net loss widened 175% to 538.6 million yuan ($76.1 million) in the first quarter of 2020. Bilibili attributed the expanded loss to the growth of its marketing, branding and employment budgets.
However, Bilibili saw explosive growth in its user base during the same quarter, when monthly active users jumped 70% year-on-year to 172.4 million while the number of monthly paying users more than doubled to 13.4 million.
Bilibili is striving to change the entrenched notion that its platform is only a paradise for animation lovers, as gaming has emerged as one of its major revenue streams.
Last month, the Shanghai-based company was the recipient of a $400 million equity investment from Japan’s entertainment giant Sony, expanding the roster of its big financial backers that also include Tencent and Alibaba.
– This article originally appeared on Caixin Global.
