Chinese micro-blogging platform like Twitter underperformed and sells fewer shares than expected. Weibo raised $286 million in its initial public offering in New York. The IPO launch for Weibo, which boast more than 100 million active users, was seen as a litmus test to gauge the demand for Chinese Internet stocks ahead of a well anticipated Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. listing.
They sold 16.8 million shares, which is 3.2 million shares short ot the expected 20 million shares. It was sold at $17 apiece, which was at the bottom of the projected range of $17 to $19.
The offering comes in the middle of broad weakness in the U.S. IPO market and a month-long retreat in stock prices that include both Chinese and U.S. Internet companies like Twitter. Twitter shares have fallen 18% since at the start of March.
