Baidu (BIDU) Travel Site Making Plans for U.S. IPO in 2012
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Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) is planning to bring it's travel site, Qunar.com, to the U.S. market.
Literally.
According to reports Thursday morning, Baidu's Qunar.com Information Technology group is planning an initial public offering of its common stock sometime in 2012. Although the size of the offering wasn't detailed, Baidu spent about $306 million last June on an investment in Qunar.com., making the company the majority shareholder.
Qunar.com was founded in 2005, and is a search engine for airline, train, hotel, and tour packages. Qunar also offers group-buying deals and user discussion forums on its website, similar to what Groupon offers U.S. consumers. The site could be a direct competitor to Ctrip.com (Nasdaq: CTRP), which currently trades on the Nasdaq.
Questions about the listing standards for U.S.-listed Chinese companies have been raised recently by the U.S. SEC. Recently listed companies like E-Commerce China Dangdang (Nasdaq: DANG), Yoku.com (Nasdaq: YOKU), Renren (Nasdaq: RENN), and others, have seen shares sink following recent IPOs. Many independent short-sellers have questioned some Chinese-based firms' financials, operations, and filings, causing investors to reevaluate positions in the companies.
But, there have been some successes... Just look at Baidu.
Shares of Baidu are up nearly 1 percent ahead of the bell Thursday.
Literally.
According to reports Thursday morning, Baidu's Qunar.com Information Technology group is planning an initial public offering of its common stock sometime in 2012. Although the size of the offering wasn't detailed, Baidu spent about $306 million last June on an investment in Qunar.com., making the company the majority shareholder.
Qunar.com was founded in 2005, and is a search engine for airline, train, hotel, and tour packages. Qunar also offers group-buying deals and user discussion forums on its website, similar to what Groupon offers U.S. consumers. The site could be a direct competitor to Ctrip.com (Nasdaq: CTRP), which currently trades on the Nasdaq.
Questions about the listing standards for U.S.-listed Chinese companies have been raised recently by the U.S. SEC. Recently listed companies like E-Commerce China Dangdang (Nasdaq: DANG), Yoku.com (Nasdaq: YOKU), Renren (Nasdaq: RENN), and others, have seen shares sink following recent IPOs. Many independent short-sellers have questioned some Chinese-based firms' financials, operations, and filings, causing investors to reevaluate positions in the companies.
But, there have been some successes... Just look at Baidu.
Shares of Baidu are up nearly 1 percent ahead of the bell Thursday.
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