Weibo will raise $500 million via the offering, and will likely become one of the largest public Chinese companies on the U.S. exchanges.
Of note, the company did warn in its IPO filing that there could be uncertainty from Chinese government regulation that would affect traffic. For example, a new regulation in the nation states that any Internet user that makes "or shares information considered defamatory or false could face up to three years' jail time in China."
"The implementation of this newly promulgated judicial interpretation may have a significant and adverse effect on the traffic of our platform and discourage the creation of user generated content," the company wrote in its filing. Additionally, the government could intervene in its encryption tools and software, with the Chinese government requiring all "cipher code products" to be registered with them, adds Weibo.
Weibo has seen strong growth, with revenue growing to $188.3 million in 2013 compared to $65.9 million in 2012. Net losses have also been falling, with profitably expected next year. Daily usership grew 36 percent to 61.4 million in 2013, adds the company.
Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 15 Mar 2014 11:04
