(Yicai Global) Jan. 14 -- Bilibili E-Sports, the professional gaming arm of Chinese video-sharing platform Bilibili, has secured CNY180 million (USD27.8 million) in its first financing round led by the Zhejiang Chuangxiang Cultural and Industrial Equity Investment Fund, online tech news outlet 36Kr reported today.

Bilibili E-Sports is planning to work with the Chengdu municipal government in southwestern Sichuan to create e-sports projects with a Chengdu-twist, President Chen Youyou told Chengdu Daily today.

Two other investors, Tianfu CCI Investment and newspaper publisher and online game developer B-Ray Media, are based in Chengdu.

While exact investment amounts were not given, B-Ray Media, which is owned by the Chengdu government, had said earlier it planned to invest CNY50 million (USD7.7 million) in the first round of financing for a 6 percent stake. This gives Bilibili E-Sports a valuation of CNY830 million (USD128.3 million).

Bilibili E-Sports, formed in 2018, has the China live-streaming rights for three major global e-tournaments, namely League of Legends, Overwatch and PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds. It is rumored to have paid as much as CNY800 million (USD124 million) to US developer Riot Games in August last year for three-year broadcasting rights of all LOL games.

Bilibili Gaming is a LOL team set up by Shanghai-based Bilibili in December 2017 when it took over the I May LOL roster.

B-Ray Media’s share price [SHA:600880] closed up 3.89 percent today at CNY3.74 (USD0.58), giving it a market capitalization of CNY4.1 billion (USD632.2 million).

Editor: Kim Taylor