17Live, Singapore&rsquo s only SPAC listing, reported a profit of US$3.68 million for 2HFY2025, compared to a loss of US$5.21 million the previous year. While revenue decreased by 16.8% year-over-year, the company improved its gross profit margin and reduced operating expenses, resulting in a positive operating income of US$3.1 million. 17Live also achieved a profit before tax of US$1.2 million for FY2025, marking its first positive full-year PBT since listing.

 

The Board was made aware on the evening of 15 October 2025, that its Independent Director, Ms. Chen Xiuling, has been included in the Specially Designated Nationals List by The U.S Department of the

Treasury' s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

 

The Board wishes to inform that 17LIVE Group has interacted with Ms. Chen Xiuling in her role as

Independent Director. Besides providing oversight as a director and member of the Board subcommittees, Ms. Chen Xiuling is not involved in the business and operations of 17LIVE. 

 

Further, 17LIVE has never done business with Ms. Chen Xiuling, the company she works in, DW Capital or the shareholder of DW Capital, Chen Zhi.

 

The Board wishes to announce that Ms. Chen Xiuling has voluntarily resigned as a director of 17LIVE

last evening and the Board has accepted her resignation.

 

The Board will look for and identify a new independent director to be appointed to the Board in due course. 

Live-streaming platform 17Live has announced its financial results after more than a year of being listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). The group was the first to successfully list via a special purpose acquisition company (spac). The spac, Vertex Technology Acquisition Corp (VTAC), was sponsored by Vertex Ventures, the venture capital arm of Temasek Holdings.

 

For its FY2024 ended Dec 31, 2024, 17Live announced a loss of about US$3.3 million ($4.4 million), narrowing from a loss of US$247.9 million a year ago, which included a revaluation loss. Its share price was down by around a third in the past year to close at 80 cents on March 12, valuing the company at $148.1 million.

 

In an interview with The Edge Singapore, Jiang Honghui, CEO of 17Live, says this is due to an accounting matter, where preferred shares are revalued after the listing. While this does not have any material financial impact, it affects the group&rsquo s bottomline on paper.

 

In FY2024, the revaluation loss is off the books, but there was yet another one-off expense, as the group had to incur a settlement expense with a music copyright organisation of about US$12 million. Jiang says that there were some &ldquo differences in interpreting the copyright agreement&rdquo . &ldquo That settlement has brought us from being profitable to being unprofitable [in our bottomline],&rdquo he adds. 

 

Nevertheless, its operating income came in at US$9 million, which was lower than the preceding FY2023, in line with a decrease in full-year operating revenue of US$190.8 million, down 31.6% over FY2023&rsquo s US$278.9 million.

 

This was mainly due to the group&rsquo s efforts not to engage in a price war in acquiring talents under its Liver live-streaming segment. As a result, a number of these &ldquo Livers&rdquo defected to other competitors. On the other hand, its so-called V-Liver segment, which refers to streamers that perform via avatars, enjoyed significant growth, but it was not sufficient to offset the decline.

 

&ldquo After Covid-19, many streaming platforms started to compete for live-streaming talents and were offering them attractive revenue sharing schemes to poach them,&rdquo explains Jiang. &ldquo We did not play the game and decided to maintain our margins because we were confident that we could grow our group of streamers, even if it meant losing some. We aim to keep our operating cost lean and become profitable.&rdquo

 

The rate of revenue decline is slowing down, as seen in the group&rsquo s 2HFY2024 results, and Jiang believes that Liver revenue will start to &ldquo normalise&rdquo . In the meantime, he is banking on continued growth from the V-Liver segment. 

 

In the 2HFY2024 period, operating income came in at US$7.6 million, some 467.4% higher h-o-h and 927.9% higher y-o-y. The group managed to narrow its operating revenue decline by 9.5 percentage points (ppt) (1HFY2024 decline by 20.9% 2HFY2024 decline by 11.4%), and recorded an operating revenue of US$89.7 million in 2HFY2024. 

 

Evolving landscape

 

Following the earnings release, PhillipCapital, in a paid report, kept its &ldquo buy&rdquo recommendation on 17Live but with a lower target price of $1.28 from $1.80 previously. In its March 4 note, PhillipCapital analysts Liu Miaomiao and Paul Chew are upbeat on the uptick in V-Liver revenue, which surged 121% y-o-y to US$11 million in FY2024, underpinned by strong demand in the Japanese market and growing intellectual property (IP) offerings by 17Live. 

 

&ldquo The group has recently acquired around 140 V-livers through the M& A of N-craft, and we expect more acquisition activities in 2025, thus supporting our forecast of revenue to double in FY2025,&rdquo say Liu and Chew. 

 

Margins in 2HFY2024 have also improved, rising 7.2ppt h-o-h to 8.5%, as cost-saving initiatives took effect and contributed positively to the bottomline. The group had shifted its marketing strategy towards the content market, focusing on profitability from offline events rather than pure publicity. As a result, FY2024 operating expenses saw a 27.3% y-o-y drop to US$73.6 million. 

 

&ldquo While we don&rsquo t expect any further savings from cost optimisation, the group is expected to continue benefiting from improved efficiency. We anticipate that gross margin will remain stable at about 42.5%, and for operating margin to improve to 5.1% in FY2025,&rdquo say the analysts. 

 

They remain cautious about the group&rsquo s core live-streaming business, which saw a decline in monthly active users (MAU), largely due to increased competition in Japan and Taiwan, where TikTok is aggressively expanding its market share.

 

To adapt to the evolving landscape, 17Live has abolished its exclusive contract requirement for streamers, allowing streamers to broadcast across multiple platforms, while maintaining the same revenue-sharing benefits as previous exclusive agreements.

 

&ldquo While there is no data to quantify the impact, we believe this shift could attract streamers to some extent by offering greater flexibility, thereby boosting MAU, as their fans tend to follow them. We expect MAU to bottom out in FY2025, though growth will likely remain marginal given the intense competition in both key markets,&rdquo say the analysts. 

 

On the outlook, they expect revenue, including the group&rsquo s recently diversified segments live-commerce and audio-streaming, to increase by 15% y-o-y in FY2025, driven by stronger-than-expected performance from Wave, the group&rsquo s audio-streaming app.

 

These two new segments have their revenues parked under &ldquo Others&rdquo in the financial statement. Jiang says: &ldquo These are two new businesses that we are still growing. We had to because we cannot just rely on one business &mdash our core live-streaming.&rdquo

 

&ldquo However, these businesses are still small and have not reached a stage whereby it is reportable under revenue. So, they are still classified under &lsquo Others&rsquo ,&rdquo explains Jiang, adding that for a business segment to be classified under &ldquo Revenue&rdquo it will need to report at least $5 million in revenue. At this point, both the live-commerce and audio-streaming segments combined have raked in revenue of about $8 million.

 

Forward strategy

 

In August 2024, 17Live unveiled its &ldquo 17Live Forward Strategy&rdquo , centred on three key pillars designed to drive sustainable growth in the live-streaming industry while accelerating its new businesses both organically and through acquisitions. Since then, the group has reported progress in product innovation and strategic acquisitions.

 

Under its first pillar of strengthening platform and product enhancements to continue driving engagement, 17Live implemented new interactive features that enhance user and streamer experiences. One such feature is the AI Co-Host feature, which allows streamers to leverage artificial intelligence to engage with audiences in novel ways, improving both content creation and moderation.

 

Apart from using AI to help its live-streamers, Jiang shares that the group allows streamers to get onboard onto the platform &mdash a service not typically provided by other platforms such as TikTok. This helps the streamers navigate the system and processes in 17Live for a better streaming experience. 

 

The second pillar is to lower barriers to entry for streamer growth. Last December, 17Live launched its V-create tool, which is a cost-free virtual-character creation feature which enables aspiring content creators to develop avatars with minimal setup easily. This initiative democratises virtual live-streaming, allowing a broader range of creators to join the 17Live ecosystem with minimum start-up hurdles.

 

Finally, the third pillar is to diversify its revenue streams by building an IP-powered ecosystem to help generate overall revenue growth. While the V-Liver segment is considered a new segment, the group has introduced its new live-commerce and audio-streaming segments, which Jiang hopes to see more meaningful contribution in FY2025. 

 

Under the V-Liver segment, Jiang says it is about more than just the talents, or &ldquo souls,&rdquo behind a virtual character. These virtual characters are IPs in their own right, and if they gain success and popularity, the group could unlock a high-margin revenue stream. Jiang is also optimistic that the V-Liver IP business will take off, seeing it as a potential driver for the group&rsquo s global expansion.

 

Jiang says: &ldquo Live-streaming revenue in the V-Liver industry represents just a portion of the overall potential, around a quarter. To tap into the majority of the revenue, the focus must expand to other areas such as events, merchandising and more. This is where popular IPs play a key role, as they are essential for monetising these additional streams and unlocking the full revenue potential.&rdquo

 

The company has already acquired two businesses to strengthen its V-liver segment: N Craft, which focuses solely on V-Liver live-streaming, and Mikai, a supplementary business centred on V-Tuber live-streaming on YouTube. Jiang anticipates making more acquisitions in FY2025, funding them through internal resources.

 

On the outlook, Jiang says: &ldquo We hope to see growth this year and finally turn profitable. We hope to see topline growth, as we are confident that our core live-streaming business has stabilised, while our new businesses are growing &mdash both have different potentials.&rdquo

Its business model is based on human connections, interactions and engagement, says CEO

 

WHEN 17Live chief executive Jiang Honghui thinks of the streamers on his platform, he does not see them as rock stars performing for large groups of fans. Instead, they are more akin to Japanese izakaya chefs hosting dinner for eight to 10 guests at a time.

 

&ldquo That&rsquo s the feeling we&rsquo re talking about. You go in, the chef knows you, greets you, talks to you,&rdquo he said.

 

However, the concept has yet to be fully appreciated by public markets in Singapore, where the app has no significant presence.

 

Shares of the company, which is the only one here to have listed by way of a special purpose acquisition company (Spac), closed at S$0.94 on Friday (Jan 3) &ndash a fraction of the minimum Spac initial public offering price of S$5.

 

Streamers on the platform have also been leaving as they gain popularity, leading to declines in overall viewership and corresponding sales.

 

In the six-month period ended Jun 30, 2024, the company turned in a net profit of US$1.9 million, from a net loss of US$118.2 million in the corresponding period the year before, due to a change in the revaluation of its financial liabilities.

 

Still, the company&rsquo s operating revenue fell 33 per cent to US$101.1 million year on year due to a decline in live-streaming revenue and unfavourable foreign currency movement. The company generates revenue largely from Taiwan and Japan.

 

Jiang acknowledged that the company&rsquo s strength as a smaller platform for new streamers is also a potential weakness that has led to a decline in the supply of streams on 17Live.

 

The platform has typically been seen as a training ground of sorts for new creators, where they can thrive as they begin live-streaming. However, they tend to leave for larger platforms when they become more popular &ndash and often take their audiences with them.

 

Trying a new way

To stem the attrition of streamers, Jiang said that the company is changing its policies from this year to make it possible for them to stream on multiple platforms.

 

During Covid-19, streamers who signed contracts with the company had an exclusivity clause preventing them from streaming on other platforms. This was put in place at a time when the platform was just one of two players that had live-streaming and virtual gifting, he noted.

 

Since then, larger players such as TikTok and YouTube have muscled into the live-streaming space as well.

 

&ldquo If you&rsquo re the only one which is closed and you&rsquo re not the biggest player, the only thing that happens is that more people want to leave, and people cannot return because people don&rsquo t want to come back and become locked up again,&rdquo he added.

 

After the policy change has been made, Jiang said that the company will look to introduce more events in the next three months.

 

These events will be in the form of contests, where streamers will compete to garner more support from their fans through paid virtual gifts. The platform also provides streamers with tips to try and convince their fans to support them.

 

&ldquo When you&rsquo re competing, naturally you can use this as a means to ask your supporters to (send) gifts to you,&rdquo he said.

 

The prize for streamers who win would not only be in monetary terms, but also in terms of the exposure they will get.

 

For instance, streamers may get the chance to be featured on the runway show of the Kansai Collection, which is held in Osaka annually. They may also be featured on advertisements run by cosmetics companies and convenience stores such as FamilyMart.

 

&ldquo We have been working with these merchants for years, and one thing about Japanese (businesses) is that once you start working with them... they will continue to work with you,&rdquo Jiang noted, adding that this is a barrier of entry for other platforms that may try to establish the same business relationships.

 

Still, there are certain lines the company will not cross in its pursuit of more streamers.

 

For example, the company will not raise commission rates to lure streamers back, said Jiang.

 

Currently, the company pays out anywhere from 20 to 70 per cent of revenue generated, depending on different factors, including a streamer&rsquo s level of experience and if their performances are streamed exclusively on the platform, he noted.

 

This is in contrast to other platforms&rsquo practice of offering up to 90 per cent commission rates to streamers, which he said is unsustainable.

 

&ldquo Because you have free capital from venture capital and private equity firms, you can burn through your bottom line, you can achieve the market scale.

 

&ldquo But once you reach 90 per cent, you realise the only way to sustain the business is to go through other kinds of value-added businesses,&rdquo he pointed out, adding that such businesses may be considered &ldquo grey&rdquo or &ldquo black&rdquo .

 

He said that the company made a conscious decision not to go into areas, such as pornography, because it received funding from limited partners that have certain social responsibilities.

 

Jiang was formerly managing director of investment at Temasek-owned Vertex, which sponsored the Vertex Technology Acquisition Corp Spac that merged with 17Live.

 

He is also the third CEO to helm 17Live since the business combination in December 2023.

 

Tapping virtual influencers

He added that, aside from live-streaming, the company is taking steps to grow its virtual-influencer business as well.

 

Virtual influencers, or VTubers, are computer-generated models that are controlled by human creators.

 

While revenue from the company&rsquo s V-Liver virtual-influencer live-streaming segment accounted for just 5.2 per cent of its total revenue in the half-year ended Jun 30, 2024, the segment grew by 211 per cent year on year.

 

On Nov 4, the company also announced the acquisition of Japanese entertainment startup Mikai, which owns Re:Act, a company that produces VTubers. The company said that the acquisition is not expected to have any material impact on net tangible assets per share and earnings per share of the group in the 2024 financial year.

 

Currently, Re:Act has two VTubers, Leona Shishigami and Hanabasami Kyo, with each having more than 300,000 subscribers on YouTube.

 

Regardless of the genre that the VTubers perform in, be it music or gaming or chatting streams, Jiang said that fans have a strong love, or gachikoi, for these streamers.

 

Gachikoi is a term that fans of Japanese idols use to refer to fellow fans who have a certain love and adoration for the idols.

 

Jiang said that the company is adding new features and tools for VTubers.

 

For instance, while it is a costly process to create VTuber models, 17Live will soon have a feature by which users will be able to customise and create their own VTuber models for free.

 

&ldquo If this were to be successful, it means our user base for (VTubers) could increase further, and (we) will&hellip have to decide that maybe it&rsquo s time for us to (separate) these into two apps,&rdquo he said, adding that the company is waiting to achieve a sort of critical inflection point.

 

Even as steps are being taken to stabilise and grow the company&rsquo s revenue streams, Jiang remains confident in viewers&rsquo willingness to pay to support their streamers.

 

He noted that about 30 per cent of the company&rsquo s monthly active users have continued to pay money to the platform for gifts and other perks.

 

&ldquo Our conversion rate is much higher, so that&rsquo s why this is a very different business model. It&rsquo s based on human connections, based on interactions (and) engagement,&rdquo he said.

 

SGX&rsquo s first and only de-spac has whetted the market&rsquo s appetite, promising more action in the year ahead. Will investors bite?

 

Live streaming company 17Live faced a challenge in 2024 following its de-spac (special purpose acquisition company) transaction late last year, which saw three CEO changes in quick succession. Alex Lien, who was CEO during the deal, resigned in late January. Co-founder Joseph Phua stepped in briefly before passing leadership to Jiang Honghui, CEO of the spac that acquired the company.

 

Since its debut on the Singapore Exchange S68 , the company has adopted a more conservative approach, focusing on careful financial management as part of its optimisation strategy. This included restructuring its Taiwan operations in the first quarter, leading to layoffs, as reported by local media.

 

At its seventh anniversary event in early November, held in its main market of Japan, Jiang told The Edge Singapore that the company &mdash also known as Inchi Nana (one seven) &mdash is poised to accelerate its growth and put its cash flow to work. Speaking from the heart of Tokyo in Shinjuku, where the event took place, Jiang declared the company was opening a new chapter. &ldquo We are back and we mean business,&rdquo he says. &ldquo Of course, we will be careful not to let this affect profitability.&rdquo

 

Jiang says the company&rsquo s &ldquo 17Live Forward Strategy&rdquo , revealed in its 1HY2024 ended June results, is now fully underway. This strategy includes investing in platform improvements and acquiring and retaining the right live streamers or &ldquo Livers&rdquo . 

 

17Live generates most of its revenue through the purchase of &ldquo Babycoins&rdquo , an in-app currency that users accumulate to buy and send virtual gifts to the Livers they support.

 

He also notes that the company has lost a significant number of Livers to competitors who are actively poaching top talent. With larger budgets, these rivals can offer higher pay, prompting many of 17Live&rsquo s Livers to break or end their existing contracts with the platform.

 

Acknowledging that 17Live cannot compete financially, the company is focusing on helping Livers grow, creating a win-win situation for all parties. This includes improving the onboarding process, offering training and ongoing support, and providing opportunities for significant exposure, such as collaborations with well-known idols and celebrities.

 

17Live is also shifting its contract-exclusivity structure to allow non-exclusive streaming. The platform began rolling out this update in phases, allowing Livers to stream on other platforms while still participating on 17Live. &ldquo Previously, if they had a presence on other live-streaming platforms, they were banned from 17Live. Today, they can come back from time to time to join our in-platform events, for example,&rdquo says Jiang. 

 

He says the goal is to create an attractive compensation and event structure that draws high-earning former streamers back to the platform. Jiang describes events as the platform&rsquo s &ldquo key killer,&rdquo as 17Live hosts over 60 online and offline events per month. The policy change will welcome more Livers to join, ensuring they do not feel restricted or reluctant to participate. 

 

&ldquo For offline events, we try to have at least one every month, such as the Halloween special and the anniversary flagship event. For online events, we have a lot running at the same time &mdash they are very engaging, promoting interaction between Livers and viewers. From the positive feedback so far, we are looking at increasing the number of offline and online events we run every month,&rdquo adds Jiang.

 

Enhanced visibility and increased profitability?

 

Following the rollout of the new strategy, Jiang forecasts better profitability in its 2HFY2024 compared to its 1HFY2024, although revenue will be in line with the previous period. &ldquo We have better visibility for our financial performance for the next reporting period, but we are still looking forward to &lsquo positive surprises&rsquo following these new policies.&rdquo

 

For its 1HFY2024, 17Live&rsquo s revenue dropped by a third to US$101.1 million ($135.6 million) due to lower revenue from live streaming. Yet, the company was able to report earnings of US$1.9 million, reversing from a loss of US$118.2 million the year earlier. This is on the back of the absence of a revaluation loss of US$128 million on financial liabilities in 1HFY2023. In 1HFY2024, there was a US$705,000 revaluation gain on financial liabilities. Notably, free cash flow remains negative, as does operating cash flow. 

 

On a q-o-q basis, 17Live reported an operating income of US$3.5 million for 2QFY2024, compared to an operating loss of US$2.1 million in the preceding quarter. 

 

Jiang says the 17Live team will be extremely busy over the next few months. In addition to implementing the new policies, a series of major announcements are planned for early 2025, which are expected to impact monthly active users significantly. He adds that more details will be shared closer to the time.

 

Premium content marketing

 

One way 17Live is boosting profitability is by shifting its marketing strategy. The company previously relied heavily on digital and performance marketing but has since recognised that this approach was not the most effective. Instead, 17Live has pivoted to &ldquo premium content marketing&rdquo , which has delivered better results since its implementation last year.

 

Since August, the company has increased its focus on exclusive content, hosting live streams with popular idol groups such as NMB48 and HKT48. These groups are part of AKB48, one of Japan&rsquo s best-known idol acts, most well known for its &ldquo idols you can meet&rdquo concept and regular performances in Akihabara, Tokyo. AKB48&rsquo s success led to regional sister acts like NMB48 (named after the Namba district in Osaka) and HKT48 (named after Hakata-ku in Fukuoka), as well as international offshoots like JKT48 in Indonesia and KLP48 in Malaysia. Together, the groups dominate music charts, selling millions of CDs and tickets while maintaining a loyal, multigenerational fanbase.

 

Another example of 17Live&rsquo s premium content strategy is its partnership with Japanese radio station Nippon Broadcasting for the All Night Nippon Zero show, which streams exclusively on 17Live daily at 3am. Part of the long-running All Night Nippon series, which has aired since 1967, the show has built a loyal following over the years. Jiang credits its success to its engaging content and the involvement of well-known personalities, making it a staple of Japanese late-night radio.

 

&ldquo This late-night show resonates deeply with &lsquo lonely souls&rsquo seeking connection, and it&rsquo s become a key part of our unique content offering. Sometimes, we even get surprise hits of traffic due to the celebrity guests invited on the show,&rdquo says Jiang, adding that some of 17Live&rsquo s popular Livers are also incentivised to create premium content. 

 

Could this move end up cannibalising 17Live&rsquo s streamers as it competes for the same audience? Jiang denies this, emphasising that integration is a key part of the company&rsquo s strategy, enabling better collaboration between well-known stars and lesser-known streamers.

 

He says: &ldquo When Livers first join, they&rsquo re often relatively unknown but bring unique qualities &mdash like a good voice or attractive facial features &mdash that inspire them to start streaming. Our strategy takes them from newcomers to established Livers through skill training in onboarding and nurturing programmes, alongside opportunities for exposure.&rdquo

 

&ldquo For example, one university student, a violinist, has done fantastically on our platform and now earns US$5,000 to US$6,000 monthly on our platform. Despite her humble beginnings, she has been selected for an outdoor ad we will be displaying in Shibuya this December. Her goal is to fund overseas studies, which aligns with our mission. By teaching these Livers streaming skills, audience engagement and providing exposure through events and collaborations, we give them the tools to succeed and grow.&rdquo

 

Diversifying revenue stream

 

One of 17Live&rsquo s strategies to diversify its revenue is by exploring live commerce. Earlier this year, the company launched cross-border live commerce from Japan to Taiwan, leveraging its strong vendor network in Japan and its key opinion leader (KOL) base in Taiwan through the OrderPally platform.

 

Jiang says the venture has met its initial key performance indicator, which is a modest but promising start. Phase two will conclude this month, with phase three set for next month. The company aims to simplify the process for KOLs, enabling easy selection of pre-approved items without heavy logistics.

 

The platform&rsquo s live commerce offering features items such as baby and mother goods, women&rsquo s apparel and popular IP-related products, including Spy x Family, Frieren and Chiikawa merchandise, pandering to a broad audience. 

 

Over 1,000 KOLs in Taiwan use 17Live&rsquo s OrderPally for group selling, while Japanese vendors stream via HandsUp. Jiang says that with full payment channel integration by next month, manual settlements will end, paving the way for a more efficient and scalable cross-border operation.

 

Looking ahead, Jiang emphasises that the company is focused on making several key announcements in 1QFY2025. This is likely linked to virtual live streaming (V-Liver), a key growth area for the company. V-Livers use animated avatars instead of showing their real faces, with their movements, sounds and expressions captured via motion capture technology. This contrasts with traditional live streamers, who appear on screen as themselves.

 

On Nov 4, a day after the company&rsquo s anniversary event, 17Live announced the full acquisition of N Craft, a V-Liver production company. The acquisition includes the V-ii brand, which focuses on nurturing new V-Liver talent and expanding the company&rsquo s digital presence.

 

The virtual streaming landscape is highly competitive. Major players include Japanese-listed Anycolor and Cover Corp, as well as platform providers Iriam and Reality, which are owned by Japanese-listed DeNA and Gree, respectively. Smaller virtual streaming agencies are also active in Japan, South Korea, Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, further intensifying the rivalry.

 

In this environment, 17Live is expanding its presence by acquiring N Craft&rsquo s V-Liver business and integrating around 140 V-Livers into its platform. V-ii will enhance the existing roster of V-Livers on 17Live and those affiliated with its other production company, NexuStella. Jiang likens the recent acquisition to a &ldquo hors d&rsquo oeuvre of salted peanuts,&rdquo adding that the company plans to serve &ldquo appetisers&rdquo ahead of the &ldquo main course&rdquo next year.&ldquo The team is highly motivated by what we have going on, and they have shared a lot of ideas that we can execute. Hopefully, we get to see these efforts bearing fruit.&rdquo

 

The spac that preceded 17Live was initially listed at $5 but fell as low as 43 cents before recovering slightly to just under $1. With the changes on the horizon, investors who held onto the stock are likely hoping for a rebound in its value.

17LIVE has acquired 100% of the outstanding share of N Craft, according to a Nov 4 release. 

 

N Craft is a production company dedicated to developing and managing virtual talents, creating engaging content that connects with fans through live performances and interactive experiences, reads the release. 

 

The acquisition includes the &ldquo V-ii&rdquo brand, which focuses on nurturing new V-Liver talent and expanding their digital presence.

 

According to the group, the strategic acquisition, which is in line with the 17LIVE&rsquo s Forward Strategy, is set to &ldquo bolster 17LIVE&rsquo s V-Liver business segment as it adds production and talent development capabilities in the V-Liver space within the group&rdquo . 

 

The group says its presence in the virtual content sector will position it to leverage Japan&rsquo s anime culture and increasing demand for virtual entertainment. 

 

Currently, the global anime market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.8%, with Japan accounting for over 40% of global revenue. The V-Tuber market, a component of the V-Liver segment, stood at around US$500 million ($658.7 million). 

 

Under the acquisition, 17LIVE is set to manage the existing V-Liver business and facilitate the transfer of approximately 140 V-Livers into the group. The group says that the The &ldquo V-iii&rdquo brand will complement the existing roster of V-Livers on the 17LIVE platform and those associated with NexuStella, another production company under the group. 

 

The group adds that both entities are expected to collaborate to &ldquo enhance the IP talent business, implement innovative initiatives, and jointly develop a new V-Liver production brand&rdquo .

 

This acquisition is not expected to have any material impact on the consolidated net tangible assets per share and earnings per share of the group for the year ending Dec 31.