Tag Archives: Cloudary

News Digest: July 13-15

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The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 13-15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • Glaxo (London: GSK) Executives Admit to Bribery, Tax Crimes, China Says (English article)
  • Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) In Final Talks To acquires Sogou For $1.4 Bln (English article)
  • Spreadtrum (Nasdaq: SPRD) Agrees To Be Acquired by Tsinghua Unigroup (PRNewswire)
  • China’s Box Office Surges In First Half (English article)
  • Shanda Cloudary Cancels US Listing Plan (Chinese article)

Ex-Exec Detained in Shanda Cloudary Case

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Ex Cloudary exec detained on suspicion of espionage

An escalating clash between 2 of China’s top Internet names has taken an interesting twist, with word that a former Shanda executive has been detained just before the formal launch of his new online literature company backed by sector giant Tencent (HKEx: 700). Broadly speaking, I’m somewhat encouraged by this latest development, which shows that China may finally be preparing to crack down on perpetrators of economic crimes who in the past often faced little or no serious punishment for their offenses. At the same time, I do worry that this latest detention may have less to do with the law, and more to do with politics and guanxi. Read Full Post…

Outlook Hazy For Cloudary IPO

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Former Cloudary employees in Tencent tie-up

Last month’s New York IPO filing by online retailer LightInTheBox has many predicting a new stream of  Chinese listings could soon hit the market, prompting many to guess who might be next. One of the leading candidates for a near-term New York offering was Cloudary, the literature unit of online entertainment firm Shanda, though that prospect is dimming with each passing day due to recent turmoil at the company. Read Full Post…

Shanda Seeks Stability in New President 盛大集团任命新总裁，求稳定

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If ever there was an Internet company that seems full of lost potential, it would be online entertainment firm Shanda Group, whose temperamental founder Chen Tianqiao is both one of the company’s greatest assets but also its greatest liabilities. After years of storminess that have left Shanda as a company rich in assets but poor in performance, Chen finally seems to want to give his firm a better chance at success with the naming of a new president in the form of a Taiwanese investment banker named Robert Chiu. (Chinese article)

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Outlook Cloudy For Shanda 盛大前景暗淡

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Things are looking cloudy for Shanda Interactive, the formerly listed entertainment company whose core online game unit appears to be going through some turmoil even as its more promising online literature unit faces its own separate headwinds. Shanda was once a superstar in its space, making headlines when it became the country’s first new media entertainment firm to make a New York IPO in 2004. But it has struggled in the last 3 years, as its core online game unit Shanda Games (Nasdaq: GAME) saw its growth shrivel and many of its other initiatives bombed.

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Shanda Cloudary IPO Glides Ahead 盛大文学推进IPO计划

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The literature unit of online game giant Shanda Interactive seems determined to move forward with its plan for a New York IPO despite a weak investor climate, landing $15 million in new funds from venture investor Orbis as it forges ahead. This kind of late-stage investment is clearly designed to generate some buzz for an offering that looks slightly interesting to me, but may still have limited appeal for the average Wall Street investor worried about recent volatility in US-listed China stocks after a series of accounting scandals last year. This latest investment also seems aimed at setting a valuation for the unit, Shanda Cloudary, again as Shanda Interactive looks to raise as much cash as possible to help pay down its big debt from its own recent privatization. (previous post) Let’s have a look at the actual news, which has Orbis taking a 1.875 percent stake in Cloudary for its $15 million investment, valuing the company at a relatively modest $800 million. (Chinese article) That’s far less than Shanda Interactive was worth when it delisted earlier this year. It’s also about two-thirds of the value of Shanda’s only other listed unit, Shanda Games (Nasdaq: GAME), reflecting the fact that this literature unit may have big potential as a supplier of online literature even though it generates significantly less revenue than Shanda’s core online gaming business. Shanda filed to list Cloudary last year but had to withdraw the plan when market sentiment plummeted. It refiled the plan earlier this year (previous post), reflecting its urgent need for new cash even as broader market sentiment remained weak. The only major Chinese company to make a New York listing so far this year, discount online retailer Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS), was a major failure, and lingering negative sentiment forced one of the year’s only other China IPO candidates, auto rental firm China Auto, to withdraw its offering just before the final pricing last month. (previous post) From my perspective, I’ve always thought the Cloudary IPO looked like an interesting proposition, as online literature is clearly a big growth market as rapidly growing numbers of Chinese mobile Internet users look for interesting things to read on their tablet PCs and smartphones. As an early entrant to this market, Cloudary looked well positioned to become a major player in the space. What’s more, the company surprised the market last month when it announced its first-ever modest profit of about 3 million yuan for the first quarter of this year. Profitability has been rare among the stream of Chinese Internet companies to make IPOs over the last 2 years, so that fact could help ease investor concerns, even though Cloudary’s sudden move into the profit column, while not surprising based on recent trends, also may have been assisted by some accounting maneuvers. Regardless of that, I still do think the company’s potential, its relatively strong income statement and relatively modest valuation could mean it may actually succeed in becoming only the second Chinese Internet company this year to make a New York IPO, providing an interesting investment opportunity for anyone who likes this emerging growth area.

Bottom line: A new round of fund-raising indicates Shanda is moving ahead with the IPO for its Cloudary online literature unit, which could receive moderate investor interest.

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Shanda Cloudary Wows Investors With Profit 盛大文学利润令投资者惊叹

◙ China Auto IPO Crashes 神州租车的IPO之梦告吹

◙ China IPO Winter Goes On as Vipshop Flops 唯品会大跌，中国IPO冬季持续

China Auto IPO Crashes 神州租车的IPO之梦告吹

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The winter for China IPOs in New York has officially moved into deep freeze with the official announcement that car rental specialist China Auto, the first Chinese company to file for a US listing back in January, has formally scrapped the offering. (Chinese article) The official withdrawal, made in a filing to the US securities regulator, marks the end of a choppy story that saw the money-losing China Auto filled with optimism when it initially filed for a Nasdaq IPO to raise up to $300 million in January, hoping that US investor skepticism towards Chinese companies had eased following a confidence crisis the previous year due to a series of accounting scandals. The first signs that perhaps the climate hadn’t improved too much came in the next couple of months, when China Auto’s IPO failed to make much progress, presumably due to lack of investor interest. The situation got worse still when online discount retailer Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS) did finally become the first Chinese company to list in the US in March, but only after it had to drastically scale back the offering due to anemic demand. (previous post) And even then, its shares priced below their original range and dropped sharply in their first few trading days. Despite that dismal performance, China Auto moved ahead with its own offering, which also met with anemic demand that forced it to halve the size of its original capital raising plan. But even that reduced plan soon looked ambitious, and it ended up suspending the offering just hours before it was set to price in late April. (previous post) The aborted offering means we could soon go an entire year with just one new listing for a Chinese company in the US. The last major listing before the current freeze came back in August last year, when online video company Tudou (Nasdaq: TUDO) forged ahead with its IPO despite a weak market, with the result that the stock dropped sharply on its trading debut. (previous post) The CEO of the New York Stock Exchange’s operator said in an interview earlier this week that only 7 Chinese companies went public on NYSE Euronext stock exchanges last year, a third of the 22 companies that made IPOs on its exchanges in 2010 when Chinese companies — especially in the Internet sector — were investor darlings. (English article) If current trends continue, we could see just 1 company list on the NYSE for all of 2012, which undoubtedly would be a low not seen for many years. There’s still a possibility we could see 1 or 2 other offerings proceed, especially one for Shanda’s online literature unit, Cloudary, which appears to be moving forward after the company reported a surprising profit in its latest quarter. (previous post) But if that IPO also fizzles, which is a strong possibility, look for the winter for Chinese IPOs in New York to easily continue until this fall, and quite possibly through the end of the year.

Bottom line: China Auto’s official withdrawal of its New York IPO shows the current winter for US-listed Chinese offerings continues, and could easily last through the end of the year.

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Shanda Cloudary Wows Investors With Profit 盛大文学利润令投资者惊叹

◙ IPOs: China Auto Slashes, People’s Daily Marches Ahead IPOs:神州组车减，人民网启动

◙ China IPO Winter Goes On as Vipshop Flops 唯品会大跌，中国IPO冬季持续

Tencent E-Commerce: Another Money Loser IPO 腾讯电商：将又一个失败的

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I was amused to read this morning that Internet titan Tencent (HKEx: 700) may choose its money-losing e-commerce platform for its first IPO, following its recent reorganization into 6 business units to allow each of those areas to sink or swim by themselves. The reports are a bit unclear about the timing of a potential IPO, and indeed say that such an offering is just one possibility for the newly formed unit as it seeks to raise more money to eventually create a broader e-commerce platform, presumably similar to Alibaba’s highly successful TMall. (English article) If that’s the case, I hope that executives are reading the newspapers these days, as investor appetite for money-losing Chinese Internet IPOs is extremely low these days and showing no signs of improving anytime soon. The only company to make an overseas Internet IPO this year so far has been Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS), a money-losing discount retailer, and that was a complete disaster. Other potential offerings from Shanda’s online literature unit, called Cloudary, and leading group buying site LaShou have all been delayed or disappeared completely, although Shanda appears to be moving ahead with its offer after its surprise disclosure that Cloudary recently turned profitable. (previous post) In terms of Tencent’s e-commerce business, it seems to me like the unit’s biggest asset is the Tencent name itself, since Tencent is clearly China’s biggest Internet firm and its leading player in online games and instant messaging. On the other hand, Tencent has had much less success in areas like e-commerce, which rely on an older, more cash-rich demographic of users unlike games and its instant messaging that tend to draw people in the 15-25 year old age range. Tencent’s newly formed e-commerce unit contains its older Paipai online auctions business, also known as C2C, along with a more recently established B2B platform that I’ve never heard of. The unit’s new head says that one of its strengths is its strong social networking element, which presumably helps to create a community among online buyers. Social networking is certainly one of Tencent’s strengths, but I doubt whether its core base of young users, with their low consuming power, would be very attractive to most e-commerce sellers. All that said, I wouldn’t expect to see Tencent make an IPO for this new e-commerce unit anytime soon due to the current frosty market. If I were advising Tencent founder Pony Ma on how to proceed, I would tell him to make an IPO first for one of the company’s more successful units, such as its social networking or online games business, which would certainly create a bit more excitement among investors. But if e-commerce does go first in the march to market for these new little Tencents, look for weak investor interest and a stock that probably won’t go anywhere but down after its trading debut.

Bottom line: Tencent’s spin off and potential IPO for its money-losing e-commerce unit looks like a poor choice for its first IPO following its recent reorganization.

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Tencent: Preparing for Breakup? 腾讯或为分拆铺路

◙ Shanda Cloudary Wows Investors With Profit 盛大文学利润令投资者惊叹

◙ Tencent in Monopoly Spotlight; Baidu Next? 腾讯被诉垄断 下一个是百度吗？

Shanda Cloudary Wows Investors With Profit 盛大文学利润令投资者惊叹

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Despite a dismal climate for US-listed Chinese stocks, online entertainment specialist Shanda appears to be moving ahead with a long-delayed IPO for its Cloudary online literature unit by attempting to wow investors with something they haven’t seen in a while: a profit. If Cloudary does indeed make it to market, it would become only the second Chinese firm to make a public listing in New York this year, as US investors have largely shunned Chinese stocks following a series of accounting scandals last year. The only company to make an offering so far this year has been a money-losing online discount retailer named Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS), whose March IPO was a resounding flop. (previous post) Another money-losing firm, auto rental specialist China Auto was all set to make a New York IPO to raise around $100 million last month, when it abruptly halted the deal due to anemic demand just before its shares were set to price. (previous post) Shanda had indicated earlier this year it was planning to refile for the Cloudary IPO, which it had to abort last summer after sentiment turned sharply negative due to all the accounting scandals and a constant stream of short seller attacks. Now it has submitted a new filing to the US securities regulator, surprising everyone by announcing that Cloudary posted its first-ever profit of about $3 million in the first quarter of 2012. (Chinese article) If that’s true, the company would indeed have a rare asset in its profitable bottom line, contrasting sharply with most of the Chinese companies that have gone public over the last year and a half, starting in late 2010 when such firms were an investor favorite. Names like online video site Youku (NYSE: YOKU) and social networking site Renren (NYSE: RENN) all have yet to report a profit despite making public offerings during that period, and online retailer Dangdang (NYSE: DANG), one of the few profitable companies at the time of its offering, has fallen deeply into the loss column since then due to stiff competition. So against that backdrop, Shanda’s Cloudary offering actually could look quite attractive and may potentially even draw some moderate investor interest if it moves ahead. When news of this offering first surfaced last year, I said it actually looked relatively attractive, as online literature was a growing area, driven by a boom in demand from users of e-readers, smartphones and tablet PCs looking for material to read on these mobile devices. Furthermore, Shanda appears to be a relative leader in the area, and could earn a premium for being the first to make an IPO in this category. Of course the big risk could be that Shanda, aware that investors aren’t interested in money-losing companies, has used accounting tricks to make Cloudary profitable for this latest reporting quarter, and that the company could slip back into the loss column in the current quarter. I suspect the truth is somewhere in between, that Cloudary is probably still losing money but is perhaps is quite close to becoming profitable on a sustained basis perhaps by the end of this year. All that said, look for investors to show some moderate interest in this offering when it moves forward, providing a welcome relief for the beleaguered IPO market.

Bottom line: Shanda Cloudary’s latest regulatory filing including a first-quarter profit shows it is moving ahead with its New York IPO plan, which could attract moderate interest from investors.

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ IPO Chill Bites LaShou, China Auto 中资企业赴美上市连遭冷遇

◙ China IPO Winter Goes On as Vipshop Flops 唯品会大跌，中国IPO冬季持续

◙ Outlook Cloudy As Shanda Refiles for Literature IPO 盛大文学重启赴美IPO计划

Vipshop Takes Lead in IPO Race 维品会或成为今年首家赴美上市中国企业

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The race to make China’s first New York IPO of 2012 is nearing the finish line, with online discount retailer Vipshop emerging as the likely winner after getting off to a late start.The listing will mark not only the first Chinese IPO in New York this year, but also the first in months following disastrous debuts for a few companies that launched offerings last summer at the height of a confidence crisis towards US-listed Chinese stocks after series of accounting scandals. I previously said that growing signs are emerging that the worst of the crisis has passed (previous post), and at least the initial response to Vipshop’s offering appears to confirm that trend. According to a domestic media report, Vipshop has set the price range for the offering at $8.50 to $10.50 per share, meaning it would raise $95 million at the low end of the range and up to $120 million if it can get the highest price. (Chinese article) This range is quite significant, as it is unchanged from Vipshop’s announcement in its first public filing that it planned to raise up to $120 million from the IPO. (previous post) That means that investor reception to the offering was within expectation, unlike last year when many companies had to sharply scale back their capital raising plans after receiving weak or no investor demand at the height of the crisis. Online video site Tudou (Nasdaq: TUDO) became a symbol for how bad things were when it went ahead with its Nasdaq IPO despite awful sentiment last August, with its shares tumbling 12 percent on their first trading day. They continued their downward spiral after that, along with most other US-listed China firms, and now trade at just over half their IPO level. Vipshop became China’s second company to file for a New York IPO last month, following another application by car rental specialist China Auto which planned to raise up to $300 million. Online entertainment specialist Shanda has also filed for an IPO for its Cloudary online literature unit, but the Vipshop plan now looks like the furthest advanced and thus the likely winner. I would expect to see it price near the bottom end of its range as some investor skepticism remains, with its shares likely to trade flat on their debut. But even that kind of performance would be a huge improvement over last year, and would likely spark a flurry of refilings for many of the IPOs that got pulled last year as companies rush to take advantage of a new window of improved sentiment. If that happens, look for companies like online clothing retailer Vancl to file in the next 2 months, and even possibly from group buying leader LaShou, which is reportedly preparing to refile for an IPO after its previous plans also ran into trouble last year.

Bottom line: Vipshop’s New York IPO, the first for a Chinese firm this year, is likely to price near the bottom of its range, but would still mark a sign of improving investor sentiment for China stocks.

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Vipshop Vies For First Internet Listing of 2012 唯品会欲在赴美上市电商公司中力拔头筹

◙ Debut Offshore IPO Looks Weak, But Not So Bad 阳光油砂上市首日表现差强人意

◙ Confidence Crisis Easing For US China Stocks 中国概念股信任危机缓和

News Digest: March 6, 2012 报摘： 2012年3月6日

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The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 6. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.

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◙ Jaguar Land Rover, Chery Seek Approval for Joint Venture (English article)

◙ Dunkin’ (Nasdaq: DNKN) Aims at China With Pork Donuts, LeBron James (English article)

◙ Interstate Hotels Adds Landmark JC Mandarin Hotel Shanghai to China Portfolio (Businesswire)

◙ Youku (NYSE: YOKU), Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) Sign Deal for Feature Films (PRNewswire)

◙ 50 Pct of China Mobile’s (HKEx: 941) Mobile Literature Revenue from Cloudary (English article)

◙ Latest calendar for Q4 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)