Bottom line: Jack Ma’s newly stated preference for an Ant Financial IPO in Hong Kong could touch off a new clash that would challenge the local securities regulator to grant an unusual listing exception or risk losing the blockbuster deal to New York.
Ant Financial eyes HK IPO
Just a couple of years after a high-profile tussle that saw e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) ditch Hong Kong to make its record-breaking IPO in New York, talkative founder Jack Ma is gearing up for a similar game of chicken for an upcoming IPO by his company’s affiliated Ant Financial unit. That’s my initial assessment, following media reports that Ma has said his first preference would be a Hong Kong IPO for Ant Financial, China’s leading private financial services company whose prize asset is its Alipay electronic payments service. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: A bidding war for iKang could see prices rise above the current highest offer of $25 per ADS, while a buyout bid for TCL Communication will be priced at a slight premium to the current stock price and meet with little resistance.
iKang attracts new buyout offer
The twisted privatization tale of private clinic operator iKang (Nasdaq: KANG) has just taken a new turn, with its receipt of another buyout offer from Yunfeng Capital, the private equity investor with ties to e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA). This development makes Yunfeng the third party to bid for iKang, which has easily become the most contested of some 40 US-listed Chinese companies trying to privatize from New York. Meantime, a far less contested buyout offer has just come in Hong Kong, where faded cellphone maker TCL Communications (HKEx: 2618) has just received a buyout offer from its China-listed parent. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Alibaba’s new self-calculated valuation of $185 billion looks realistic and even possibly low, but the stock will remain under pressure until the intentions of big stakeholders SoftBank and Yahoo become clearer.
Alibaba estimates value at $185 bln
It’s not often that you get to see a major company put a value on itself, but that’s exactly what we’re getting as a result of new information coming from this week’s sale of nearly $8 billion worth of stock in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA). I’ll end the suspense right away and say that Alibaba has valued itself at about $185 billion with the latest sale of a big block of its stock held by longtime Japanese backer SoftBank. While that number looks quite impressive, it’s also noteworthy because it values Alibaba quite a bit lower than arch-rival Tencent (HKEx: 700), as the pair jostle for the title of China’s biggest Internet company. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on June 8. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Bottom line: A new $300 million investment by Tencent, Baidu, JD.com and a private equity firm in Bituato is aimed at providing major strategic partners to ensure its continued profitability as an independent car trading platform.
Baidu, Tencent, JD invest in Bitauto
China’s non-stop chain of Internet M&A has created some strange bedfellows, including a new investment that will make partners out of search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) and social networking giant Tencent (HKEx: 700). The pair, 2 of China’s top 3 Internet companies, are coming together with e-commerce giant JD.com (Nasdaq: JD) and another private equity firm to invest a fresh $300 million in online car listing services firm Bitauto (NYSE: BITA). The investment by each company is relatively small, and has slightly different significance for all 4 parties involved. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: European alarmism could soon start to grow over a sudden Chinese buying spree of local soccer clubs, including the latest purchase of Inter Milan by Suning and a looming purchase of AC Milan by a Chinese buyer.
Suning bounces into Milan
The new week is kicking off with a couple of China soccer deals in Europe, led by the purchase of a majority of Italy’s Inter Milan by consumer giant Suning (Shenzhen: 002024), and buzz that another deal is near that would see crosstown rival AC Milan sold to a Chinese buyer. This kind of news is becoming quite common these days, following other recent deals that have seen Chinese companies buy or purchase stakes in soccer clubs and other sporting assets in Spain, Britain, Switzerland and even New York. All of which raises the question of if and when Europeans might start to feel uneasy about this sudden buying binge of so many assets from their favorite past-time. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on June 4-6. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Accor Gains After Report That Jin Jiang (HKEx: 2006) Aims to Increase Stake (English article)
China’s HNA Group Eyes South American Airline Groups Avianca – Sources (English article)
SoftBank Proceeds From Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) Selldown Rise to $10 Bln (English article)
Huawei Aims to Pass Samsung, Apple in 5 Years to Become Top Smartphone Brand (Chinese article)
Indian Smartphone Maker Micromax Plans to Enter China Next Year (Chinese article)
Bottom line: Baidu’s new tie-up with a US-based stock broker reflects growing access to global stocks by Chinese investors, and could help to stem the recent privatization wave of overseas-listed Chinese companies.
Baidu in US stock tie-up with Robinhood
In a move that has highly symbolic overtones, online search giant Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) has just formed a new alliance with a US company that will finally make its own New York-listed stock available to investors in its home China market. That deal will see US stock trading startup Robinhood offer its services over Baidu’s own brokerage platform, in a tie-up that reflects the growing access that Chinese investors are gaining to overseas stock markets. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on June 3. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Didi Chuxing, Uber Compete for Most Funds in Latest Drives (Chinese article)
Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) Announces Terms of Share Purchase from SoftBank (Businesswire)
China Says Midea’s (Shenzhen: 000333) German Robot Deal Shouldn’t be Politicized (English article)
Taobao Invests 28.2 Bln Yuan in Suning (Shenzhen: 002024), Becomes 2nd Largest Shareholder (Chinese article)
US Requests Documents From Huawei on Previous Trade Sanctions (Chinese article)
Bottom line: New sales of Alibaba and Lenovo shares by big stakeholders partly reflect disappointment in each stock’s performance by the seller, as both companies face issues that could stunt their medium-term growth.
Big stakeholders sell Alibaba, Lenovo shares
The folks at e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and PC leader Lenovo (HKEx: 992) are licking their wounds today, after each was dumped by a major major shareholder. In the first case longtime backer SoftBank has just sold off a big chunk of its Alibaba holdings, raising a hefty $7.9 billion in the process. The second deal has Internet giant Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) looking to sell about $200 million worth of Lenovo stock. Alibaba and SoftBank are trying to put a positive spin on their development, but the bottom line is that both Alibaba and Lenovo stock have become disappointments recently for all investors. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on June 2. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Japan’s SoftBank Plans to Sell $7.9 Bln in Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) Stock to Cut Debt (English article)
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Sells Patents to Xiaomi, Builds ‘Long-Term Partnership’ (English article)
Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Seeking Up To $221 Mln by Selling Lenovo (HKEx: 992) Stock (English article)
Jaunt, SMG and CMC Launch Virtual Reality Venture Jaunt China (Businesswire)
Michael Kors Acquires Greater China Licensee for $500 Mln (Businesswire)
