Tudou will officially be delisted from the NASDAQ today. That’s no surprise as we’ve known for a while that its merger with Youku was likely to go through without a hitch. What might be more of a surprise — though not a huge one given the history of competition between the two companies — is that Tudou founder and CEO Gary Wang announced in the early hours of the morning that he will be retiring from his position at Tudou. The company will soldier on under Youku’s flag, but without its longtime leader.
On his Sina Weibo account, Wang posted the following message at 12:34 A.M.:
On the eve of the double-sevens festival, after seven years at Tudou, I officially announce tonight that I am retiring. Thanks to all my brothers and sisters, and thats to everyone I met along the road who left a splash of color in my story. I’ll see you all the the next interesting dream.
If that sounds weird, rest assured that it’s slightly less so in Chinese. That last line has caught the attention of a lot of Wang’s fans on Weibo, who are already wondering what the “next interesting dream” will be. Does Wang have plans for another internet startup, or he will be counting his money on a private beach somewhere from here on out? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Meanwhile it will be interesting to see how Youku’s (NYSE:YOKU) stock reacts to the news of Wang’s departure. On the one hand, Tudou’s CEO leaving right at this moment probably doesn’t look great. On the other, Wang and Youku’s leadership were not always on the friendliest of terms if some rumors are to be believed, so the loss of Wang could be something of a blessing. Either way, two things are for sure: Tudou is leaving the NASDAQ, and Gary Wang is leaving Tudou.
This is not the first high profile exec to leave Tudou since the merger; Tudou COO Evelyn Wang left the company back in early July.
[via Sina Tech]
Disclosure: Well before the merger was announced, I once worked for Youku. However, I have no stocks or other interests in that or any other Chinese internet company.
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