More Stumbles for Saab Rescue, 360Buy IPO 搭救萨博和京东商城IPO两计划注定命运多舛
Not surprisingly, two questionable deals that I previously predicted would run into trouble are showing new signs of problems, one in the automobile space and the other in e-commerce. The former involves a dubious plan by 2 obscure Chinese companies to help rescue Swedish automaker Saab, while the latter involves an equally questionable plan by money-losing e-commerce site 360Buy, also known as Jingdong Mall, to raise up to $5 billion in a US IPO. First Saab, whose plan to get a 245 million euro rescue loan from Chinese firms Youngman Lotus and Pangda Automobile (Shanghai: 601258) looked destined to fail from the beginning, as China’s state planner was unlikely to approve such a loan. (previous post) Now foreign media are saying the Chinese pair have instead offered to buy Saab outright for a much smaller cash infusion, an offer that Saab’s owner has rejected. (English article) It’s hard to say exactly what is happening here, but my guess is that the Chinese pair modified their offer — knowing full well it would be rejected — after realizing or being told their original proposal would never get Chinese government approval. Regardless of the reason, this development probably means the end of the road for near-bankrupt Saab, whose hopes on China for a rescue never really had a serious chance of success. As to 360Buy, Chinese media are reporting more delays in the money-losing company’s planned mega-IPO, which made headlines when it suddenly leaked the news last month. (Chinese article) Just a week after word of the IPO plan first emerged, the company, whose investors include Russia’s Digital Sky Technologies, already leaked once that it was delaying the move. (previous post) This new report cites an insider saying the latest delay is due to weak market sentiment, and an IPO won’t happen until the first half of 2012 at earliest. Even that sounds extremely optimistic to me, and I wouldn’t expect to see this company raise any money from Wall Street until 2013 or later.
Bottom line: Plans for a China rescue for Saab and a mega-IPO from 360Buy are, as expected, turning out to be overly optimistic, with neither likely to happen anytime soon.
Related postings 相关文章:
◙ Message to Saab: Don’t Count on China 萨博不应指望中国注资
◙ 360Buy IPO: Let the Delays Begin 京东商城放缓IPO进程
◙ 360Buy $5 Bln IPO Plan Looks Like Desperation 京东商城50亿美元上市计划凸显绝望
