Enhances Home Internet Operational Capabilities and Promotes the Value of the Large Screen Smart TV Industry
HONG KONG, May 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- TCL Multimedia Technology Holdings Limited ("TCL Multimedia"; HKSE stock code: 01070) announced that its associated company Shenzhen Thunderbird Technology Co., Ltd. ("Thunderbird Technology") and JD.com, Inc. have reached an agreement, subject to customary closing conditions, under which JD will invest RMB300 million into Thunderbird Technology. Upon completion, JD will hold a 6.67% equity interest in Thunderbird Technology. The two parties will form a strategic cooperation focused on internet-based capabilities, content and services, as well as ecosystem resources to generate complementary advantages and synergistic benefits.
Resources Integration and Promoting the Value of the Large Screen Smart TV Industry
Thunderbird Technology, TCL Multimedia's TV+ smart TV platform, relies on the user scale and industrial chain resources of TCL's smart terminals, and applies a user-centric approach. At the same time, it continually expands its user base, drives up user loyalty, and more importantly, raises the commercial value of the platform through enriching its content and applications, discerning user needs, and improving user experience.
Thunderbird Technology and JD.com will begin in-depth cooperation in advertising systems, e-commerce and logistics services, and unified management of member accounts. The move will combine the strengths of both parties' resources and capabilities to promote the value of the large screen smart TV industry. In addition, the two parties will collaborate on the research and development of artificial intelligence technology as well as application development for large screen smart TV and smart home products to jointly develop new markets, share customer resources and service capabilities, enhance user experience and single-user monetization efficiency, and accelerate the development of the large screen TV ecosystem.
Create Synergy to Further Unlock the Value of the Internet Business
Mr. Kevin Wang, Chief Executive Officer of TCL Multimedia said, "JD is a leading technology-driven e-commerce company and retail infrastructure service provider in China. This cooperation with JD, in addition to Tencent's previous strategic investment, will help enable Thunderbird Technology to greatly enhance the platform's value and monetization capabilities."
TCL Multimedia will leverage the advantages of existing smart home terminal products to further enrich its internet content and application resources. It will also improve platform operations and user service capabilities, so as to accelerate business model innovation and help improve monetizaiton in the large screen smart TV ecosystem.
As of the end of the first quarter of 2018, Thunderbird Technology has a total of approximately 25.6 million activated users. It has achieved revenue of approximately RMB68.87 million for the first quarter of 2018, which represents a significant increase of approximately 338% over the same period of the previous year. In July 2017, Thunderbird Technology obtained Tencent Digital's strategic investment of RMB450 million. The first round of funding not only provided financial support for Thunderbird Technology to expand the development of smart TV operations, but also deepened cooperation between the two parties in different fields.
About TCL Multimedia
Headquartered in China, TCL Multimedia Technology Holdings Limited (HKSE stock code: 01070) is one of the leading players in the global TV industry, engaged in the research and development, manufacturing and distribution of consumer electronic products. Through a new product-and-user-oriented business model that focuses primarily on a "double +" strategy which includes "intelligence + internet" and "products + services" as the main direction, it strives to build a comprehensive ecosystem for smart TVs that provides users with an exquisite experience with its smart products and services. The Group ranked No.3 in the global LCD TV market with a market share of 10.9% in 2017 according to the latest IHS Technology report and the Company's shipment data, and ranked No.3 in the PRC LCD TV market with a market share of 12.1% for the first quarter 2018 according to CMM's omni-channel data. The Group is included in the eligible shares list of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect. For more information, please visit its website: http://multimedia.tcl.com.
