5 Facts About the LINE Corp (LN) IPO as It Lights Up Wall Street

(UPDATED 10:10AM) The highly-anticipated IPO for LINE Corp (NYSE: LN) hit the New York Stock Exchange today. Shares of the Japan-based mobile messaging and communication service opened for trading at $42 after pricing 35,000,000 shares of its common stock, consisting of 22,000,000 shares of common stock in the form of shares or American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") offered in the United States and elsewhere outside Japan at a price to the public of ¥3,300 per share or $32.84 per ADS and 13,000,000 shares of common stock offered in Japan at a price to the public of ¥3,300 per share. This was above the expected range of $28.50 and $32.50, ¥2,900 and ¥3,300.

Below are 5 notable items about the company and IPO:

1. Since the introduction of its mobile messaging application in Japan in June 2011, LINE has grown into a global platform with users in more than 230 countries and a strong user base in Asia. The company's active user base has grown to 218 million monthly active users (“MAUs”) globally in March 2016, with 152 million MAUs located in their four largest markets of Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia.
2. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Nomura Securities Co., Ltd., Goldman Sachs Japan Co., Ltd. andJPMorgan Securities Japan Co., Ltd. are acting as the joint global coordinators for the global offering.
3. The company's revenues are primarily generated from games, Stickers and advertising services on the LINE platform, as well as from advertising on our web portal. The company generated revenues of ¥39,586 million in 2013, ¥86,366 million in 2014, ¥120,406 million in 2015 and ¥33,456 million in the first three months of 2016.
4. For the two years ended March 31, 2016, according to App Annie, LINE ranked as the world's largest mobile publisher based on non-game gross revenue from iOS App Store and Google Play, combined.
5. The company has incurred significant operating losses in the past, and its ability to achieve profitability is uncertain. recorded loss for the year of ¥6,391 million in 2013. The company recorded profit for the year of ¥2,004 million in 2014 but recorded loss for the year of ¥7,972 million in 2015 and loss for the period of ¥234 million in the first three months of 2016, and had an accumulated deficit of ¥19,301 million as of March 31, 2016. Although revenues have grown rapidly, revenue growth rate has slowed recently and may do so in the future due to a variety of factors.

• BONUS FACT: It already received a Buy rating. Jefferies initiated on Line with a Buy rating and ¥4,200 price target, saying it has a near-monopoly.

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