Cityneon secures new investment, eyes expansion in experience entertainment

EDBI, a Singapore government-linked global investor, has made an undisclosed strategic investment in Cityneon Holdings, a creative solutions provider for interior architecture, events and exhibitions.

The funding comes close on the heels of investment made by CITIC Capital, an affiliate of CITIC Group, in May 2019.

The investment will help Cityneon further expand into new markets, including Scotland, India, UAE, and China.

Post investment, Cityneon will also equip its headquarters in Singapore with a new creative office, in addition to the creative offices in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, US.

Cityneon will accelerate its further expansion plans following recently concluded syndicated loans led by its financial partners, BNP Paribas, Hang Seng Bank, and United Overseas Bank, apart from CITIC Capital and EDBI funding.

Cityneon secures investment from EDBI. Image courtesy of IndypendenZ at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Other Cityneon investors include Johnson Ko, Hong Kong veteran entrepreneur and investor, and Ron Tan, executive chairman & group CEO of Cityneon.

Ron Tan said: “Internationalization and having a global perspective are Cityneon’s key growth engines, and EDBI with their extensive network will add significant value to our expansion worldwide.

“Moreover, EDBI’s strong knowledge and experience in emerging technologies will bring an important dimension which we can benefit by applying the latest innovations to enhance our experience entertainment

“Today, approximately 90% of the Group’s profits are derived from outside of Singapore.  We intend to step up our pace of expansion.”

Cityneon has become a key player in the global arena of experience entertainment following international partnerships with global movie studios such as The Walt Disney Company, Marvel, Hasbro, Universal Studios, and Lionsgate.

The firm, which has toured their intellectual properties (IPs) in excess of 39 cities till date, is expected to partner with new studios to acquire new IPs in the coming months to further foray into new cities such as Glasgow, Scotland and Mumbai, India, where the Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. exhibitions will open in Q4 2019; Dubai, UAE, where the Transformers experience will open in 2020; China, where the Jurassic World: The Exhibition will be featured next year.