Line Submit confidential documents to SEC

Tencent Technology News July 18, sources, Japan's instant messaging application developer Line Corp (hereinafter referred to as "Line") has filed a confidential document with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in preparation for landing the United States stock exchange market. The move will lay the foundation for the dual listing of Line in the New York and Tokyo stock markets.

Earlier this week there was news that Line had submitted a prospectus to the Tokyo Stock Exchange about two weeks ago, planning an initial public offering. It is reported that Line's valuation of the company exceeded 1 trillion yen (about 9.85 billion US dollars). According to sources, the investment bank Morgan Stanley will be responsible for Line securities listed in the United States underwriting work. Under the United States Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBSAct), companies that make under $ 1 billion in revenue may file confidential prospectuses with the SEC.

The information provided by the Line official website shows that the service currently has more than 470 million users in 230 countries and territories worldwide. Line, which is owned by South Korea's Naver, is seen as a major competitor to WhatApp and its WeChat and other instant messaging applications acquired by Facebook earlier this year for $ 19 billion.

Yasuhide Yajima, chief economist at investment firm NLI Research Institute in Tokyo, said: "The listing on the New York Stock Exchange will help Line expand its presence in the global market and enhance its brand awareness to better compete with its competitors. The opponent's attack, Line must be through the mergers and acquisitions after the listing, to further enhance its value and service. "

As of now, Line Spokesman Fumiko Hayashi and Morgan Stanley spokesman Mary Claire Delaney both declined to comment on the story. Sources have disclosed that Nomura Securities will be responsible for the underwriting of the Line listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Competitors

In addition to the very popular in the Japanese market, Line has a large number of users in Thailand, China Taiwan and other countries and regions, and has entered the European, Latin American markets. Line is now looking at expanding into markets such as the United States and mainland China.

Japan's largest online store, Lotte, announced in February this year that it has acquired instant messaging application developer Viber Media Ltd. for more than $ 900 million. Five days before the deal, Facebook announced a $ 19 billion acquisition of instant messaging app WhatsApp. Led by Chief Executive Officer Akira Morikawa, Line aims to reach 500 million to 600 million global users by the end of this year. Akira Morikawa said in April that he planned to double the total number of Line users by 2015 to at least 1 billion.

After WhatApp was acquired by Facebook, the industry has been tracking the trend of the Line, to see whether the company will be sold outside, or through the listing to raise funds. Line executives have said earlier that the company is more inclined to an initial public offering.

Line, which currently has 666 employees, launched a free instant messaging application in June 2011. Line core business revenue more than tripled in the first quarter of this year to 14.06 billion yen. Line has built services into services including games, anime, free voice, video calling, photo and video sharing. (Loudly)