Bottom line: 55Tuan’s IPO plan has a less than 50 percent chance of succeeding as a deadline looms, while Jiayuan.com is likely to de-list later this year after its investors accept a so-so buyout offer.
Time is quickly running out for a planned IPO by group buying site 55Tuan, as a deadline approaches that will nullify the company’s application earlier this year for a New York listing. Meantime, time is also running out for another Chinese Internet company, Jiayuan.com (Nasdaq: DATE), as a private equity firm launches a bid to privatize the neglected online dating site.
Both 55Tuan and Jiayuan represent a group of decidedly second-tier Chinese Internet companies that probably would have been acquired long ago in a more mature western market. But in the less developed Chinese market, the pair have managed to stay independent. The second-tier status of such firms often leads investors to question their longer term viability, dampening enthusiasm for their stocks when they list overseas. Read Full Post…
