Combat sports organisation ONE Championship has raised at least $50 million from investors including Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) while Holywings Group, the owner of Bali’s biggest beach club, is reportedly considering an IPO.
ONE Championship bags $50m from QIA, others: report
Singapore-based sports media platform Group One Holdings, the parent company of mixed martial arts brand ONE Championship, has reportedly raised at least $50 million from investors, including existing investor Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).
According to a Bloomberg report, the new investment values the company at a minimum of $1.35 billion, similar to the post-money valuation from a previous round in 2021.
QIA and Guggenheim Investments backed Group One’s $150-million equity financing round in 2021, which the sports media group used to diversify its content and offerings and expand outside Asia.
Founded in 2011 by Sityodtong and Victor Cui, ONE Championship is among Asia’s largest global sports media properties.
The latest fundraise comes as ONE Championship reportedly laid off a few dozen employees as part of a cost-cutting strategy to bring the company to profitability. An internal email seen by The Business Times quoted Sityodtong, the company’s CEO, as saying that they have no choice but to take the “difficult step”, citing the “challenging and uncertain” external global macroeconomic environment.
ONE Championship posted a 19.2% increase in revenue in 2022 to $84.5 million. It also trimmed its losses to $61.7 million from $111 million a year earlier.
Bali’s biggest beach club owner Holywings eyes IPO
Holywings Group, the owner of Bali’s biggest beach club, is reportedly considering an initial public offering (IPO), Bloomberg reported. The target size of the IPO in Jakarta has not been disclosed but the report said the current valuation of the company was pegged at about $300 million by co-founders Ivan Tanjaya and Eka Setia Wijaya.
Proceeds of the IPO will be used for working capital, per the report. Holywings owns Atlas Beach Club, the luxurious three-hectare club in Bali. It has a capacity of 1,000 people.
The report added that Holywings seeks to increase its total number of establishments from over 50 bars and restaurants in Indonesia to more than 80 by end-2025. It also plans to expand into Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, and Taipei.
