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Tag Archives: Credit Suisse

News Digest: January 17 报摘：2013年1月17日

By newsdoug on January 16, 2013

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 17. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Alibaba Group Said to Hire Credit Suisse, Goldman (NYSE: GS) for IPO (English article)

Tencent (HKEx: 700 Apologizes For Blocking Sensitive Content On WeChat (Chinese article)

China Mobile (HKEx: 941) President In Taiwan, Promotes TD 3G/4G Integration (Chinese article)

China MediaExpress a Fraud, Hong Kong Arbitration Rules (English article)

Chrysler Announces Deal To Build Jeeps In China (English article)

Alibaba’s Yahoo Buyback: Deal Finally Near? 阿里巴巴回购雅虎所持股权可能为期不远

By newsdoug on May 3, 2012

I haven’t written for a while about Alibaba’s endless quest to buy back the 40 percent of its shares held by faded US search giant Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO), so now seems like a good time to revisit the subject yet again following reports that China’s e-commerce leader is near finalizing a $3 billion bank loan it will need to complete the buy-back. (English article) Of course the main problem with this deal has never been the financing, though news of this loan could mean a deal may be near for this tortured buy-out that began with the firing of former Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz last September and has now dragged on for 8 months. According to the latest reports, Alibaba expects to finalize the loan by the end of this month, which will be a syndicated deal involving a large number of mostly foreign banks including Credit Suisse (Switzerland: CSGN) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS). Both Alibaba and Yahoo have shown that they want to complete a deal, so clearly there’s determination on both sides. Alibaba wants to reclaim the stake so it can sell it to other investors in the run-up to an eventual IPO, while Yahoo wants to get rid of a stake it considers a valuable but unneeded distraction as it struggles to turn around its core US-based search business. Neither company has commented on the major stumbling blocks that have kept them from signing a deal, but based on what I’ve seen the major obstacle seems to be unrealistic expectations from both sides, including Yahoo’s desire to structure the deal in a way that will allow it to avoid paying taxes on the $10 billion or more in gains it will make through the sale. Reports in early February indicated the 2 sides were restarting discussions for the buy-out with more realistic expectations, after a previous round of talks faltered and stalled out late last year. (previous post) Neither side has commented since then, but this latest news that Alibaba is close to finalizing the $3 billion loan may indicate that the deal is finally moving forward and we could actually see an announcement in the next 2-3 weeks. Of course, hopes were high for a deal to be finalized last year after Yahoo’s big leadership change, even though those talks eventually failed, leaving everyone in limbo. The big difference this time is that new Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson has been in his job for 5 months now, during which time he has started his overhaul plan which included announcement of mass layoffs. The Alibaba stake clearly has no part in Thompson’s future vision for Yahoo, and thus he probably feels that now would be a good time to get rid of this distraction. Accordingly, he will be willing to make compromises, most likely with strong backing from the Yahoo board, to finally reach a deal. Personally speaking, I can’t wait for that day to come so this troubled marriage can finally end in divorce and both Alibaba and Yahoo can move on to more important matters.

Bottom line: Word that Alibaba is close to finalizing a $3 billion loan to buy back the 40 percent of its shares held by Yahoo indicates a deal in this drawn-out process may finally be near.

News Digest: February 10, 2012 报摘： 2012年2月10日

By newsdoug on February 9, 2012

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 10. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.

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◙ China Power Giants Flex Muscles Abroad (English article)

◙ The Dairy Queen System Opens 500th Location in China (Businesswire)

◙ 360Buy to Launch Hotel Reservation Service (English article)

◙ Credit Suisse Predicts China Mobile (HKEx: 941) to Get 4G License By Year End (Chinese article)

◙ Alibaba.com (HKEx: 1688) Shares Suspended Pending Clarification (Chinese article)

◙ Latest calendar for Q1 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)

55tuan Restarts IPO Race With LaShou 窝窝团和拉手网重启IPO争先赛

By newsdoug on February 1, 2012

55tuan restarts group buying IPO race An IPO race pitting 2 of China’s top group buying sites, LaShou and 55tuan, is showing signs of restarting in the Year of the Dragon, though I’m still a bit dubious of whether either of these 2 companies will ever really make it to market. New reports in the Chinese media say 55tuan is denying rumors that it has scrapped plans for a New York IPO, saying it is moving forward with a timetable for an offering in the second quarter. (Chinese article) The denial marks the latest twist in a race that started to take form last summer, when both 55tuan and LaShou appeared to be moving ahead with plans for offerings to raise much-needed cash. Both companies had trouble finding underwriters for their offerings, with names like Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) resigning from LaShou’s plan (previous post), while Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) and Merrill Lynch reportedly declined to bid for the 55tuan deal. (previous post) All the big banks were reportedly concerned about the accounting used by both companies for some of their many acquisitions, amid a broader series of accounting scandals that hammered US-listed Chinese stocks last year. LaShou ended up hiring several second tier-players, including domestic heavyweight CICC and Japan’s Nomura; but one of my sources tells me that even Nomura ended up dropping the deal and was replaced by Britain’s Barclays Capital. LaShou appeared to have the edge in the race when it made its first public IPO filing last fall, but then saw that plan derail after the US securities regulator grew suspicious and asked for more information. (previous post) That happened in November and we haven’t heard anything since then, leading me to believe that the plan could be delayed indefinitely while LaShou does some major reworking of its books to satisfy both regulators and its own underwriters. In the meantime, I’m also skeptical that 55tuan will really make a second-quarter IPO, as it is having its own problems in the highly competitive group buying space that saw it make mass layoffs last year. Turmoil in the space appeared to claim its latest victim earlier this week when Groupon.cn, which has no relation to US giant Groupon, reportedly put most of its employees on extended holiday after the Chinese New Year break. (previous post) At the end of the day, one or both of these companies could finally make it to market, but both would be well advised to wait until the end of the year when they can generate more excitement — if they have the financial resources to survive that long.

Bottom line: A second-quarter IPO timetable for group buying site 55tuan looks overly ambitious, and an offering closer to the end of the year looks both more prudent and realistic.

55tuan Scraps Listing Plan After Banks Get Cold Feet 各投行临阵退缩 “窝窝团”放弃赴美上市

By newsdoug on July 28, 2011

It seems investors aren’t the only ones getting jittery about Chinese accounting standards in the current crisis of confidence surrounding US-listed China stocks. Domestic media are reporting that up-and-coming group buying site 55tuan, which just two months ago raised $200 million from a group including Goldman Sachs (previous post) is now having to abort its plans for an IPO. But this time, 55tuan is abandoning the plan for a US listing not due to weak market sentiment, but because it was rejected by some of the biggest investment banks, including Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs itself, according to a Chinese report, citing informed sources. (Chinese article) It seems the banks are all concerned about 55tuan’s rapid growth in the last couple of years, which came on the back of a big buying spree that saw it acquire lots of smaller local group buying sites. According to the Chinese report, the investment banks are worried about lax accounting at many of the acquired companies, which could throw much of 55tuan’s own books into question. Clearly the big banks don’t want to be caught with any potential liability from shareholder lawsuits of have to answer to the SEC if they help a company list that later turns out to have crooked books. One of my sources previously told me that similar acquisitions were at the heart of the crisis that hit Longtop Financial, whose own accounting was called into question due to doubts about the books at one or more of its acquired companies. If that’s the case, companies that have grown by acquisition could be especially vulnerable as the current confidence crisis plays out.

Bottom line: Companies like 55tuan, which grew through questionable acquisitions, will find themselves under growing scrutiny in the crisis surrounding US-listed China stocks.

对於中国赴美企业正在经历的信任危机，投资者似乎并不是唯一担心其会计准则的人。国内媒体报导称，团购网“窝窝团”赴美IPO(首次公开募股)计划受阻。该网站两个月前刚从包括高盛那里募集到2亿美元。但据中国媒体引述消息人士的话报导，“窝窝团”此次赴美上市计划受阻并非因市场情绪低迷，而是因遭到瑞士信贷、美林、甚至包括高盛等多家国际大投行拒绝。看似各大投行对“窝窝团”过去一两年的飞速发展都有所顾虑。“窝窝团”依靠收购众多当地小型团购网站而迅速发展起来。根据该篇中国媒体的报导，各大投行担心“窝窝团”收购的很多公司可能存在会计问题，而这将会使“窝窝团”的会计问题遭到质疑。如果各投行帮助其上市，最终却发现公司存在会计问题，其必将面临股东诉讼，并需遭受美国证券交易委员会的质询，各投行显然不想面临这种局面。之前曾有消息人士对我说，中国赴美企业会计丑闻中的东南融通就因类似收购而导致其财务状况遭质疑，因其所收购的一个或多个公司存在会计问题。若果真如此，在当前信任危机闹得沸沸扬扬之时，那些靠并购发展的企业可能尤其易受伤。

一句话：那些像“窝窝团”一样通过并购发展的企业会发现自己在此次中国赴美企业会计丑闻中面临着更严格的审查。

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