The technology world has been abuzz with news of Alibaba’s record-setting IPO last Friday. The IPO showcased the potential of China’s tech magnates, but investors knew it would not be the last blockbuster IPO of 2014.
Line, the messaging app with 490 million registered users and an ecommerce arm of its own, was expecting to go public as well. Having built up an empire of cute, the company had prepared public filings in both Japan and America. Line never revealed if it intended to do a double filing or ultimately pick one country over the other.
None of that matters any more. Nikkei is reporting that Line has decided to forgo its 2014 IPO. Had the company followed through, the resulting valuation was likely to exceed US$10 billion.
According to Nikkei, the company stressed that decision reflects a need to delay the IPO until a more appropriate time. Details regarding what was inappropriate about 2014 were not available.
Given the timing of the decision, it is hard not to speculate that Alibaba might have played an accidental role. Perhaps the rush on Alibaba shares was worrisome since Line could never hope to match such heights. Alibaba US$90+ debut was due in part thanks to US$7.5 billion in revenue for 2013. Line’s revenue for 2013? A paltry-by-comparison US$338 million. Casual investors might look at that difference and underestimate Line’s value.
Line is now looking at a possible 2015 IPO. In the intervening months, the company can observe how investors assess Alibaba’s quarterly numbers while growing its new focal point, Line Mall.
Tech in Asia reached out to Line for comment and will update this article if a spokesperson responds.
See: Line announces $100M fund just for mobile games, acquires 10% stake in Gumi
Editing by Charlie Custer
(And yes, we’re serious about ethics and transparency. More information here.)
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