Weibo paring gains after Bloomberg denies earlier report of $20B take private offer (update)

4X-image/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images

• Update 8:45am: Updates shares, adds denial report.
• Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) is paring some of its gains, now up 12%, after Bloomberg reported that a report that Weibo is going private is "not true."
• Earlier, Weibo gained more than 40% on a Reuters report that the company's chairman Charles Chao and a Chinese state investor are in talks to take the Twitter-like company private in a deal for at least $20B.
• The Weibo chairman and state investor are expected to offer $90-$100/share for the company, according to a Reuters report, which cited sources familiar. Chao's holding company New Wave is the largest holder of Weibo, which had a 45% stake as of February.
• New Wave is joining up with an unidentified Shanghai-based state firm for a consortium for a take private deal for Weibo, according to the report.
• A take private of Weibo would let the company's second largest holder Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) and top customer exit its investment.
• Weibo short interest 23% of float.
• In February, Weibo gained on report it was preparing to list in Hong Kong.

Comments

[mwa111]

Sell the news. I was in calls for past month that expired next week. Nothing wrong with waking up to a 10X play once in a while. On to the next! 🙂

[InvestingIdeas]

Odd timing, 23% short interest followed by going private talks.

[Yang2020]

Wow all these pathetic Western shills.

[estellaxtw]

Come get some shorties!

[AverageInvestorAtBest]

Bloomberg is the mouth of the CCP, so hard to trust them. They just write what they're told to.

[Jay Peng]

@AverageInvestorAtBest WTF media company should write what they are told to, not to make up shit

[Tosh123]

Probably trying to get a "short squeeze" going

[Tosh123]

CEO Charles Chao is a scammer. He just screws Western investors. AVOID. He'll try to do a "take-under" before he pays a premium to shareholders.

[ATX]

You seem to know so much about the CEO, why don't you short it and bring the short interest to 150% so that wallstreetbets can pump it up to $5000?

[Tosh123]

@ATX why waste my attention on manipulated stocks? I'd get run over. Charles Chao is very, very anti-shareholder friendly. SINA was a take-under. If you don't understand his history, I suggest you read up. see SINA/Net Asset Value/Aristea/ Super Voting shares. Feel free to comment after you educate yourself on the management team here.

[Luculus]

likely another CCP scam

[Leandro_Santos]

90 to 100? That's such an high price for the stock imo
Maybe it's just to squeeze the shorts?

[AverageInvestorAtBest]

@Leandro_Santos why is that high? Did you assess a fair value much lower? Or just saying it's too much because you don't own the stock or shorted it?

[Leandro_Santos]

@AverageInvestorAtBest Yes I did. Just do a multiple comparison between $FB and $WB....