Leading online travel agent Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) is generally regarded as one of China’s best run and most focused Internet companies, which is why new reports that it’s chasing a tie-up with 2 of the nation’s top group buying sites look a bit worrisome. The company is sitting on top of a huge cash pile, worth nearly $2 billion at the last check in March, and is looking increasingly desperate for places to spend the money. It has already been spurned by some of the travel sector’s most likely acquisition targets, which is probably why it’s now looking elsewhere for places to invest its treasure chest. Read Full Post…
Tag Archives: Qunar
Ctrip Ties With Tongcheng, Eyes Tuniu
An ongoing consolidation in the crowded online travel space has taken a new twist, with word that industry leader Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) has made a major investment in up-and-comer Tongcheng and is eying a similar tie-up with IPO candidate Tuniu. The latest news comes from one official announcement on Tongcheng, and another media report on Tuniu, showing just how active the online travel space has recently become due to the entry of several new players over the last few years. All of this comes just weeks after Ctrip was reportedly in talks to merge with Qunar (Nasdaq: QUNR), the sector’s second largest player, in a deal that would have created a sector leader with a market value of around $10 billion. Read Full Post…
Tencent Makes Travel Mates Of eLong, Tongcheng
Just days after reports emerged that China’s top 2 online travel agents were in talks for a potential merger, rivals eLong (Nasdaq: LONG) and venture-backed Tongcheng have announced their own new tie-up that could be prelude to a similar marriage. In an interesting twist, this newest deal looks like it’s being engineered behind the scenes by Tencent (HKEx: 700), China’s leading Internet company that is also a major stakeholder in both eLong and Tongcheng. Such a dynamic would be similar to the bigger deal that emerged earlier this week, which could see leading online search firm Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) orchestrate a much larger merger between Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) and Qunar (Nasdaq: QUNR). Read Full Post…
IPO Fever Cools With Sina Pricing, Tarena Debut
The booming market for Chinese IPOs in New York got some worrisome signals last week after investors shunned 2 new listing candidates, raising the very real possibility that the current wave of enthusiasm is quickly ebbing. That could mean a new period of stagnation or even a downturn is looming for the sector, which suffered for 2 years before rebounding sharply in the second half of 2013. Read Full Post…
Ctrip-Qunar: New Traveling Mates?
The news has been flying thick and fast these past 2 few for Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP), including the latest word that China’s oldest and largest online travel agent could be headed for a merger with fast-rising rival Qunar (Nasdaq: QUNR). I actually predicted this potential merger last fall in the run-up to Qunar’s IPO, even though nothing happened at that time. Now the latest reports are saying such a deal is in late-stage talks as Ctrip prepares to sell a controlling stake of itself to leading search engine Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), which also happens to be Qunar’s controlling stakeholder. Read Full Post…
Tarena Sputters As Year’s First China IPO In NY
Educational services provider Tarena (Nasdaq: TEDU) has become the first Chinese company to list in New York this year, posting a disappointing debut hinting that US investor enthusiasm towards China stocks may be starting to cool. But truth be told, Tarena hardly looks like the vast majority of Chinese companies rushing to list in New York, most of which are in the Internet space. By comparison, Tarena is a relatively niche provider of education services for software engineers that is growing quickly enough but is still quite small. Read Full Post…
Online Travel Gets Hotter With Rising Tongcheng
Reports of major new funding for online travel site Tongcheng are casting a spotlight on a sudden rise in competition for the sector, which for years was dominated by industry leaders Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) and eLong (Nasdaq: LONG). The trend looks a bit worrisome to me, hinting at a new looming round of price wars and potentially some consolidation. Ctrip could well become a leader of such consolidation if it occurs, since the company now has a huge cash pile of nearly $2 billion following its raising of $800 million through a highly popular convertible bond offer last fall. Read Full Post…
Jingdong Rushes IPO As Alibaba Valuation Flies
I previously predicted that e-commerce giant Jingdong would try to make a IPO in the first half of this year, and now we’re hearing that the company has come out galloping in the Year of the Horse by filing a plan for a major New York listing. Word of the plan comes after a year-end boom for Chinese Internet IPOs in New York, most of which have soared since theirdebuts. Jingdong undoubtedly wants to try to seize some of that momentum, but equally important is keen to make its offering before the highly anticipated IPO of its much larger rival Alibaba expected later this year. Alibaba itself was also in the headlines over the Lunar New Year holiday, with the latest financials on the company adding further froth to its soaring valuation. Read Full Post…
Baidu Finishes Nuomi, Tencent Eyes Dianping
A couple of Internet M&A deals are in the news as we head into the final days before the Lunar New Year, with word that leading search engine Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) has purchased more of group buying site Nuomi, while top Internet company Tencent (HKEx: 700) may be eying restaurant ratings site Dianping. The first deal could reflect a new pattern for Baidu, which has mostly bought controlling stakes but made few outright acquisitions in its recent spree of major purchases. Meantime, the latter deal would look good for Tencent if it was really happening, though I have major doubts about whether it is. Read Full Post…
Tuniu Races To Internet Bull Market
When does an 87 percent rise in your share price in just 3 months make you a laggard? The answer: When your name is online travel agent Qunar (Nasdaq: QUNR), and the 87 percent rise makes you the worst performer among a quartet of Chinese Internet companies to make New York IPOs at the end of last year. The sudden surge in investor interest towards these companies will almost certainly lead many Chinese Internet firms to speed up their New York listing plans in the first quarter of this year, starting off with word that Tuniu, another online travel services firm, is accelerating its plans for a listing in the next few months. Read Full Post…
Wandoujia App Store Gets Big Funding, Sale Ahead?
App stores have suddenly become a hot ticket in China’s online space, with word that 4-year-old operator Wandoujia has just landed $120 million in funding from a group led by Japanese tech investor giant Softbank. The deal comes just a half year after online search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) acquired another app store, 91Wireless, for more than $1 billion, leading me to wonder if Wandoujia could soon become a target for one of China’s cash-rich and recently very acquisitive top Internet companies. Such a purchase would certainly make sense for names like e-commerce leader Alibaba and social networking giant Tencent (HKEx: 700), which, along with Baidu, are all spending heavily to build up their mobile Internet business. Read Full Post…