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Tag Archives: Momo
Momo social media APP latest financial, market & economic news and analysis by Doug Young, former Reuters Chief editor and expert about Chinese Startups companies
Bottom line: Jumei could formally abandon its stalled buyout plan soon, putting more downward pressure on its stock, while iKang needs to enter serious negotiations with two bidders for the company.
Jumei, iKang under pressure over stalled buyouts
Ever wonder what happened to a handful of buyout plans for US-listed Chinese companies that were announced more than two years ago but never got completed? That’s certainly not a question that keeps most of us up at nights, but it’s suddenly popping into the headlines with a series of scathing letters from a minority investor called Heng Ren, which is criticizing two of the unfinished deals.
Specifically, Heng Ren is blasting online cosmetics seller Jumei International (NYSE: JMEI) and clinic operator iKang (Nasdaq: KANG), which both announced plans to privatize quite a while ago but have yet to complete those. These aren’t the only two whose privatization plans, which were part of a wave in the first half of 2015, failed to get completed. But most of the others that failed to complete their buyouts, including YY (Nasdaq: YY) and Momo (Nasdaq: MOMO), made specific announcements that they were abandoning their plans. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Weibo’s rise from the ashes is likely to be followed by a decline similar to the one after its initial rise, as the current boom in live broadcasting wanes or that part of its business gets stolen by a better product from rival Tencent.
Weibo links with People’s Daily
A turbo-charged Weibo (Nasdaq: WB) is in a couple of headlines as the new week begins, led by a new partnership with Beijing’s powerful central media that looks eerily similar to one from about 5 years ago. At the same time, the company is also in headlines for passing its role model, U.S. social networking pioneer Twitter (Nasdaq: TWTR), in terms of market value, in a case of the offspring outrunning the parent.
The sub-story to all of this is the huge and sudden explosion of live streaming services in China, which has helped Weibo to rise from the ashes and suddenly become one of China’s hottest companies again. That same live streaming phenomenon is also helping to revive others, such as Momo (Nasdaq: MOMO), sometimes called China’s equivalent of U.S. hooking-up app Tinder. Read Full Post…
Updates with details of Alibaba’s latest holdings, and statement from Alibaba.
Bottom line: Alibaba’s sale of Momo shares is probably part of a slow-motion divorce, as Momo’s founder aims to continue forward as a standalone listed company following the termination of its buyout bid earlier this year.
Alibaba sells Momo shares
The story of the failed courtship between leading e-commerce company Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and social networking app operator Momo (Nasdaq: MOMO) could be nearing an end, with word that the former has sold off some of its stake in the latter. This particular tale is full of twists and turns, culminating in speculation at one point that Alibaba would outright buy the “hook up” app sometimes referred to as China’s equivalent of US matchmaking app Tinder.
But as with many courtships on the Chinese Internet, this particular one seems to be ending in a slow-motion break-up, though it’s unclear what the cause of that might be. Investors don’t seem to be worrying about the falling out just yet, at least based on Momo’s share price after word emerged that 5 million of its American Depositary Shares (ADSs) were sold by Alibaba. (Chinese article) But I’m not particularly bullish on Momo, mostly because its dating-style app seems like a trendy thing that will probably fall out of fashion at some point. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: The scrapping of a buyout offer for Momo could reflect growing obstacles to re-listing in China, and could presage the abandoning of more similar buyout bids for US-listed Chinese companies.
Momo abandons privatization bid
In a relatively surprising development in the wave of privatization bids for US-listed Chinese companies, social networking app operator Momo (Nasdaq: MOMO) has just announced a group proposing to buy out the company has withdrawn its offer. No reason was given for the reversal, and instead Momo used the official announcement to focus on its latest financial results and outlook. The move came as a surprise because the buyout deal had very strong financial backing from a group that included e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and venture capital giant Sequoia Capital. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on August 19. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Momo (Nasdaq: MOMO) Announces Withdrawal of Privatization Offer (GlobeNewswire)
Lei Jun Resigns as YY (Nasdaq: YY) Chairman to Focus on Xiaomi Revival (Chinese article)
Bottom line: GIC’s investment in China Telecom represents a vote of confidence in the company over the next 2 years, as it makes strong gains in 4G and data services and could become more aggressive under new leadership.
GIC bets on China Telecom
China’s smallest wireless carrier China Telecom(HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA) has just received a vote of confidence from one of the world’s better-known global investors, with the new disclosure that Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC has purchased 5 percent of the telco’s Hong Kong-listed shares. That decision comes amid mixed signals coming from China Telecom, which has just received new leadership after its former chairman was booted out for corruption. On a more positive note, China Telecom has been posting strong growth in its year-old 4G business, though the foundation for that growth was largely laid by yet another previous leader who left the company about a year ago. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Dangdang’s latest buyout offer is likely to meet with minority shareholder resistance due to its sharp downward revision, while Momo is also likely to lower its earlier buyout price if and when it announces a final offer.
Dangdang gets lowered buyout offer
After pausing briefly last week, the train of publicly-traded Chinese firms leaving New York has resumed with the receipt of a new offer for faded e-commerce company Dangdang (NYSE: DANG). In this case it’s significant that Dangdang has announced a revised buyout offer from its founders, since that means the deal most likely has the necessary funding and is likely to move ahead. But it’s also significant that this revised offer is sharply lower than 2 earlier offers for the company, one from its founders and one from a rival bidder.
Next there’s social networking app operator Momo (Nasdaq: MOMO), which has remained mum on its own pending buyout bid in its latest quarterly results. That doesn’t mean the bid is necessarily on hold, especially after word emerged last month that e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) was joining the buyout group. But Momo’s shares now trade well below their earlier buyout price, and I suspect that if and when it finally announces a concrete offer the price will also be revised downward from the earlier bid. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: The CSRC’s reported plans for a backdoor listing quota for companies returning to China from New York should restore confidence that well-conceived buyout plans by big names like Qihoo will succeed.
Regulator reopens gate for backdoor listings in China
After a massive sell-off at the beginning of the week on concerns of a major new roadblock to their homecoming plans, Chinese companies privatizing from New York have seen their shares rebound sharply on reports of a regulatory compromise that would allow them to re-list in China. The story is mostly based on rumors about an internal debate within the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), China’s stock regulator, which is worried about a potential future flood of backdoor listings by local companies now privatizing from New York.
The sell-off for companies like Qihoo (NYSE: QIHU), Momo (Nasdaq: MOMO) and 21Vianet (Nasdaq: VNET) at the start of this week came after reports emerged saying the CSRC might halt all such backdoor listings, which typically see a company inject its assets into an existing listed shell company. The regulator took the unusual step of saying it was simply studying the issue, but that didn’t ease concerns that New York privatization bids for Qihoo and others might collapse if backdoor re-listing route in China was closed. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Many privatization bids by Chinese firms hoping to re-list in China could collapse if the CSRC cracks down on backdoor listings, though de-listing plans backed by big private equity names could still succeed.
Privatizing shares tumble on CSRC rumors
Rumors that they might get a chilly reception from China’s securities regulator has sparked a major sell-off for shares of US-traded companies trying to privatize and re-list at home in search of higher valuations. The dive is one of the largest I’ve seen for any single group in quite a while, and could present a great buying opportunity for anyone who believes these companies can still successfully privatize and re-list in China.
But in this case I might be more inclined to agree with the pessimists, since China’s securities regulator is quite conservative, even though I’ve said it should continue to allow these re-listings. (previous post) In this case the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) may also be acting under direct orders from Beijing, which is already worried about another major sell-off on domestic stock exchanges like one early this year. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Homelink’s new mega funding reflects a recent renewed boom for Chinese real estate in major cities, while Alibaba’s backing of Momo’s buyout could presage a tie-up between Momo and Weibo.
Alibaba joins Momo buyout group
A couple of big fund-raising stories are in the headlines, led by the latest mega-funding for the fast-expanding real estate agent Homelink. Meantime, separate reports are saying that e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) has joined a group aiming to privatize social networking app Momo (Nasdaq: MOMO), helping to squash skepticism that the buyout offer announced last year might collapse due to insufficient funding.
The only common thread to these 2 stories is that they show big funding remains available for high-growth companies in China, fueled in part by profits being generated by China’s booming real estate market. That boom has been directly responsible for Homelink’s meteoric rise, and seems like a good place to start this discussion of these 2 new mega fundings. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: The looming completion of buyouts for Qihoo 360 and Mindray Medical points to growing momentum for successful privatizations of other Chinese firms waiting to de-list from New York.
Qihoo, Mindray head back to China
Two of the largest in a wave of privatizations by US-listed Chinese firms have just taken big steps forward, with major new announcements from software security specialist Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) and medical device maker Mindray (NYSE: MR). One case has Qihoo announcing a formal date for a meeting where shareholders will vote on its plan to privatize the company. The other has Mindray announcing it has formally completed its own buyout plan, and has filed to have its shares de-listed from New York.
It’s quite significant that both of these plans are moving forward now, since China’s own stock markets where both Qihoo and Mindray hope to eventually re-list have been in a state of turmoil these days. That turmoil has seen the main Shanghai index tumble around 20 percent this year, and it’s quite possible that more turbulence lies ahead. Read Full Post…
