Renren files for IPO in New York

Chinese social networking site Renren has filed for an initial public offering of American depositary shares on the New York Stock Exchange. According to its filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the company is offering 42.9 million ADS and shareholders will sell another 10.2 million, while the underwriters have an option to sell another 8 million shares if there is sufficient demand. The offering is expected to have a price range of USD 9-11 per ADS. Each ADS represents three class A shares of the company. After the offering, Renren also plans a private placement of 33 million ordinary shares, at the midpoint of the IPO price range. After the share issues, the company's founder, chairman and CEO Joseph Chen will still hold 55.9 percent of the voting rights in the company, and SB Pan Pacific will have a 33.5 percent stake. Renren claims to be the leading social networking site in China in terms of time spent on the site. It had 117 million registered users as of March and is adding around 2 million new users each month. Renren reported a net loss of USD 61.2 million on revenues of USD 76.5 million in 2010.