Social-media service Weibo Corp., often called "the Twitter of
China," on Friday unveiled estimated terms for an initial public
offering of about 20 million American depositary shares.
Weibo's owner, Sina Corp. (SINA), last month said it was taking
the company public with a plan to raise up to $500 million in an
IPO. The move to go public came four months after Twitter's own
IPO
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Weibo
estimated ADRs will price between $17 to $19 apiece.
Weibo estimates it will receive net proceeds from the IPO, as
well as a concurrent private placement from e-commerce giant
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., of about $377.2 million, or up to
nearly $429 million if underwriters purchase additional ADRs.
Those estimates are based on the assumption the IPO prices at
the midpoint of the range, Weibo said.
Weibo intends to use the proceeds to enhance its brand
recognition, retain talented employees by providing equity
incentives and obtain additional capital. It also intends to use
about $250 million to repay loans owned to Sina.
Weibo's revenue nearly doubled last year to $188.3 million, but
the company also lost $38.1 million. In terms of users, Weibo is
about half the size of Twitter.
The ADRs are expected to be listed on the Nasdaq Global Select
Market under the symbol WB.
Write to John Kell at john.kell@wsj.com
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