DQ Entertainment (DQE), an Animation and Gaming company, has raised funds of $56 million through its listing on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) on the 18th of December. The company has placed around 19,727,961 shares, representing around 54.9 percent of its issued share capital. The company has listed under the stock ticker symbol DQE.L. The shares, of a face value of 1 pence each have been priced at £1.36 per share. At this price, DQE’s market capitalization was at £48.9 million. The funds will be used primarily for setting up production facilities in India, developing sales and distribution networks, acquisitions in Europe, joint ventures and co-investments in intellectual property. Business Standard adds that a part of the investment is being used to buy out existing investors - IL&FS, i-labs, TDA Capital Partners, India Value Funds and IFC, Washington.

As per the company release on the listing DQE has been growing at a CAGR of 47-50 percent; the company’s co-production and service order book is close to $94.6 million. DQE has also set up a New Media Initiatives Division to target the India market, particularly for animation for TV Series and Features. The company will also foray into publishing of comics and merchandising of original IPs. They recently launched their Technology Centre III, for in-game animation content development for the XBox 360, PS3, Nintendo, as well as handheld, online and mobile space. The company has over 2800 full time employees, and plans to set up a campus in Hyderabad’s Hi-Tech City, and a production facility in the Special Economic Zone in Kokapet, Hyderabad.