Bottom line: Shanda Games’ imminent de-listing could be followed by a behind-the-scenes consolidation by one or more savvy private equity firms to create a major new online game firm capable of challenging NetEase or even Tencent.
Shanda Games heads for de-listing door
Faded online gaming pioneer Shanda Games (Nasdaq: GAME) is finally heading for greener pastures, releasing what’s likely to be its final earnings report as its shareholders get set to vote on a plan to privatize the company. Shanda Games’ road to privatization has been long and tortured, and is only now finally coming to completion after its initial announcement nearly 2 years ago. (previous post) But that said, I do have to commend Shanda’s strong-willed founder and chief Chen Tianqiao for finally getting the job done.
From a broader perspective, Shanda’s departure continues a trend that has seen online game companies de-listing en mass, after their stocks struggled for years due to stiff competition. In an interesting twist to that trend, these gaming laggards have been one of the few groups to actually complete privatizations among the 3 dozen US-traded Chinese companies that announced such buyouts earlier this year. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Tencent should limit itself to only reporting rivals or former employees for illegal behavior in major cases of criminal behavior, or risk being labeled a tattle-tale and undermining its own image.
Tencent: a vindictive whistleblower?
Media are flocking to the latest China Internet scandal that has seen software security specialist Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) accused of hosting pornography on its cloud service. But this time it’s not so much the act of hosting pornography that’s drawing attention, since this kind of problem is relatively routine on China’s unruly Internet scene.
Instead what’s drawing the attention is the source of the accusations that led to the scandal. In this case the pornography was uncovered in an investigative TV report, after central broadcaster CCTV was tipped off by Internet giant Tencent (HKEx: 700). China Internet watchers will recall that Tencent has a long-running feud with Qihoo 360 dating back to a clash 5 years ago. Observers will also recall that Tencent was in similar headlines last month when it leveled corruption allegations at a former executive who defected to e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA). Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 28-March 2. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China issues 4G FDD Licences To China Telecom (HKEx: 728), Unicom (HKEx: 762) (English article)
China draft Counterterror Law Strikes Fear In Foreign Tech Firms (English article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 6. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Tencent-backed (HKEx: 700) WeBank Gets The Ball Rolling With First Loan (English article)
Wanda E-Commerce Initiative To Go Online In Fourth Quarter (Chinese article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 25. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Carrefour (Paris: CA) Launches Convenience Store Brand In China (Chinese article)
JD.com (Nasdaq: JD) To Invest 2 Bln Yuan In Dongguan Operations Center (English article)
China Buying REC Solar (Norway: RECSOL) For $640 Mln Avoids Trade Spat (English article)
Beijing’s notorious smog was thick in the blogosphere this past week, with tech executives sending out a flurry of cautionary messages as the city held its annual marathon. This particular issue shines an important spotlight on the fact that many of China’s top tech firms are clustered in the Chinese capital, running the range from search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) to top portal Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) and PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992).
Meantime, other interesting buzz in the blogosphere was coming from security software specialist Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU), which finally admitted defeat in its anti-monopoly lawsuit against Tencent (HKEx: 700) after the case was denied a final appeal by China’s highest court. One final interesting tidbit came from several executives at Lenovo, which unleashed a flurry of buzz after the company’s announcement of vague plans to set up a separate unit dedicated to smart devices. Read Full Post…
The short selling world has been buzzing this week after a secretive research firm launched an attack on recently-listed Tianhe Chemical (HKEx: 1619), sparking a sell-off in the company’s shares. The shady short-seller, appropriately named Anonymous Analytics, has now issued a statement defending its actions, saying it made its attack for the public good. Perhaps that’s true, though I have my doubts. But far more interesting is the prospect that a group of sophisticated short sellers that have feasted for the last 3 years by attacking US-listed Chinese firms could be preparing to move their show to Hong Kong and even to China itself. Read Full Post…
The slower summer months haven’t cooled down appetite for new M&A among Chinese Internet firms, with word that e-commerce leader Alibaba is chasing a massive investment that could see it purchase a stake in US social networking high-flyer Snapchat. At the same time, software security specialist Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) has just announced new plans to raise up to $1 billion through a convertible bond offer, in what also could be the prelude to a major new acquisition. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 31. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Chinese Vendors Outpace Market As Smartphone Shipments Grow 23.1% In Q2 – IDC (Businesswire)
EU/China Solar Deal Offers No Dumping Protection: EU Producers (English article)
PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992) has never been a company to sit still for very long, which is both a positive and negative trait, as it announces yet another new foray into the smart devices sector. The company’s inability to be satisfied with the status quo has helped propel it to the world’s top PC maker through a series of acquisitions over the last few years, making it one of China’s best known global brands. But that same inability to focus also means Lenovo is constantly venturing into new areas, both for products and geographies. Some of those look good, but many often lead to headaches and disappointment. Read Full Post…
Qihoo 360’s (NYSE: QIHU) controversial founder Zhou Hongyi was buzzing through the microblogging realm this week, attacking online search archrival Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) in one instance as he was accused by a former employee in another case of attacking Cheetah Mobile (NYSE: CMCM), a rival in the security software business. Meantime, telecoms giant Huawei was generating some rare upbeat buzz for its latest smartphone, the P7, getting several high-profile tech executives to hype the model in what looks like a page from the playbook of marketing-savvy smartphone rival Xiaomi. Read Full Post…
