Bottom line: Huge interest in a new mega funding for Wanda Pictures reflects confidence in the company and China’s entertainment industry, though Wanda may have to raise its price to complete its proposed US acquisition of Carmike Cinemas.
Wanda’s Carmike bid draws chilly reception
The hyperactive Wanda Group is in a couple of entertainment headlines as we round out the week, reflecting the company’s recent drive to diversify beyond its roots as a real estate company. The larger of the pair has Wanda’s recently launched film-making unit raising a cool $2.4 billion in its maiden fund-raising, an impressive figure for a company that has little experience in the area. The second involves an acquisition plan by Wanda’s related theater arm, and is seeing the company’s plan to buy US chain Carmike Cinemas (Nasdaq: CKEC) hit some opposition from shareholders who say the bid is too low.
This pair of stories reflects 2 different themes in China’s corporate world over the past year. The first shows how easy it has become for big names like Wanda to raise major new funds, often topping $1 billion, from investors excited about China’s fast-growing Internet and entertainment sectors. The second reflects a growing resistance by US shareholders to Chinese acquisitions of New York-listed companies, with many complaining the bids grossly undervalue such companies. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 8. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Stock Slump Spreads as Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) to JD.com Whipsaw Investors (English article)
Weibo (Nasdaq: WB) Enters E-commerce Business (Chinese article)
Wanda Cinema (Shenzhen: 002739) Line H1 Revenues Up 41 Pct to 3.48 Bln Yuan (English article)
Uber’s China Rival Didi Kuaidi Said to Raise Funds From Ping An, Capital Int’l (English article)
Alipay In 130,000 Offline Stores, as Ant Financial Gets $45 Bln Valuation (Chinese article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on June 30. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Wanda Cinema (Shenzhen: 002739) to Raise 2.2 Bln Yuan for 16 Purchases (Chinese article)
Legend Holdings (HKEx: 3396) Edges up in HK Debut After $1.96 Bln IPO (English article)
Didi Kuaidi Operator to Invest in Southeast Asian Taxi App ‘GrabTaxi’ – Source (English article)
KongZhong (Nasdaq: KZ) Receives Proposal to Acquire the Company (PRNewswire)
Putian Hospital Association Restarts Ad Buying on Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 23. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Wanda Cinema (002739.SZ) Surges To 44 Pct Limit on Shenzhen Trading Debut (English article)
WeChat Global MAU Reaches 440 Mln, Moments Ad Rates Revealed (English article)
Ping An (HKEx: 2318) Acquires City Of London Property For $482 Mln (English article)
TCL (Shenzhen: 000100) Reorganizes Into 3 Main Produce Areas (Chinese article)
TAL Education (NYSE: XRS) Announces Unaudited Results Fiscal Q3 (PRNewswire)
Bottom line: Wanda Cinema and Spring Airlines represent a new generation of major private companies to list in China, and should enjoy strong share gains over the short to medium terms following their IPOs.
Spring Air leaps on first 2 trading days
There was plenty of spring in the stocks of 2 hot companies that listed in China this week, with budget carrier Spring Airlines (Shanghai: 601021) and theater operator Wanda Cinema Line (Shenzhen: 002739) jumping 44 percent in their trading debuts. The pair are part of a new generation of privately owned companies starting to list on China’s main stock markets, stealing the spotlight from an older group of state-run firms that still dominate the country’s 2 main stock exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen.
Obviously profits and broader performance will be the biggest determiner of whether these companies’ stocks continue to rise after the euphoria of their IPOs starts to fade. But from the perspective of a western buyer like myself, Wanda Cinema and Spring Air are 2 of the first Chinese-listed firms that I’ve seen whose stocks I would personally consider buying. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Disappointing results for fund-raising by Wanda Cinema Line and Kuaidi taxi app show a recent boom in new funding for private Chinese companies may have crested and will wane for the rest of the year.
Kuaidi fund-raising diappoints
The crest of a huge wave of new fund raising for private Chinese firms may have passed, with word that 2 major new deals that should have attracted big investor interest have instead met with weaker-than-expected response. The first of those has seen investors give a lukewarm reception to a domestic IPO for Wanda Cinema Line, the nation’s first major movie theater operator to list. The second has seen taxi app operator Kuadi raise $500 million in a private funding round, which doesn’t sound too bad. But the figure is actually quite a bit lower than Kuaidi’s earlier plan and is also lower than a similar recent fund-raising round for leading rival Didi. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Dalian Wanda (HKEx: 3699) Says 4 Investors To Put $3.9 Bln Into 20 New Malls (English article)
Wanda Cinema Line Issues Stock At Low Price, Well Below Other Valuations (Chinese article)
Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Forms Logistics, Financing Unit (Chinese article)
Bottom line: IPOs this week by Spring Airlines and Wanda Cinema should debut strongly, and a proposed Hong Kong listing by Sinopec’s retail arm should also do well if broader market sentiment remains strong.
Spring IPO set for liftoff
We’re only 2 weeks into the New Year, but already the IPO market is getting off to a roaring start with major new listings from budget carrier Spring Airlines and the movie theater unit of real estate giant Wanda Group. At the same time, other media are reporting that the newly spun off retail arm of oil refining giant Sinopec (HKEx: 386), already flush with cash from a major stake sale to private investors last year, is also eying an IPO in Hong Kong. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 13. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) To Invest Over $500 Mln In Indian Startup (English article)
Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) Discussed Possible Investment In Xiaomi – Sources (English article)
Sinopec (HKEx: 386) Plans To List Retail Unit In Hong Kong – Report (English article)
China’s Wanda Cinema Seeks To Raise $203 Mln In Scaled-Back IPO: Sources (English article)
China Domestic Market Cellphone Output Drops 21.9 Pct in 2014 (Chinese article)
