Line plans IPO in Tokyo in July - report

News Wireless Global 2 JUN 2016
Line plans IPO in Tokyo in July - report
Messaging app Line is planning an initial public offering in Tokyo in July, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal. In what may be also a dual listing in New York, the company is expected to raise USD 2-3 billion and attract a valuation of over USD 5 billion, the report said. Line and its Korean parent company Naver said nothing has been decided about an IPO. 

Line's messaging app is popular in Japan, Indonesia and other Asian countries, but it has not reached as many users as rivals such as WhatsApp or Viber. Its monthly active users totaled 218 million at the end of March, with more than half coming from just four countries: Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia. The company has been working to expand beyond messaging into other areas such as gaming, payments and marketing. 


 

Categories:

Mobile

Companies:

Line,  Naver

Regions:

Global

Tags:

Messaging, Financial funding

Related Articles

GLOBAL 28 JUN 2016

Line sets IPO range at JPY 2,700-3,200 per share

Japanese mobile messaging provider Japanese Line has set its price range for an initial public offering (IPO) in Tokyo and New York next month at JPY 2,700-3,200 (USD 26.50-31.50) per share, the Wall Street Journal reported. The IPO could raise up to JPY 112 billion, making it the biggest technology listing so far this year.

GLOBAL 10 JUN 2016

Line values IPO at USD 1 bln - filing

Line is hoping to raise USD 1 billion in its initial public offering (IPO) in July, Bloomberg reported, citing a company filing. Line will sell shares in the US and Japan at a valuation of about JPY 588 billion. The offering is for 35 million new and existing shares, with an over-allotment of 5.25 million shares. The price range will be set on 27 June, and the final price on 11 July, the company said.

GLOBAL 2 JUN 2016

'Line volgende maand naar de beurs'

Line zal volgende maand naar de beurs gaan in zowel Tokyo als in New York. Naar verluidt moet de beursgang tussen de twee en drie miljard dollar opleveren. Line, onderdeel van het Zuid-Koreaanse internetbedrijf Naver, heeft al sinds 2014 plannen om naar de beurs te gaan. De beursgang volgende maand zal volgens anonieme bronnen worden begeleid door Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan en Nomura. Line is een app voor messaging en gratis VoIP, waarbij gebruikers hun profiel kunnen personaliseren met sticker

GLOBAL 1 JUN 2016

WhatsApp is top messaging app in over 100 countries

WhatsApp is the top messaging app for Android in 109 of the 187 countries assessed in a recent study by SimilarWeb. WhatsApp countries include Brazil, Mexico, India and Russia. Facebook's Messenger app came in second overall, claiming 49 countries such as Australia, Canada and the US. After Messenger, Viber was the only other messaging app to claim ten or more countries. SimilarWeb, which found that messaging apps were the top app overall in all markets analysed, has produced an interactive map giving a cou

THAILAND 2 MEI 2016

Line to create R&D unit for Thai market

Line Thailand announced plans to create a new R&D unit in Thailand, to recruit Thai developers and create new services and apps that answer Thai users' needs, writes local paper Nation Multimedia citing a company statement. The company said that its move was encouraged by the Thai government's greater focus on the IT industry. At present, Line Thailand has five core business units, namely games, content, business solutions, e-commerce, and payment. The company is recruiting a number of new team players to c

ASIA 28 APR 2016

Line revenues up 21% to USD 303 mln in Q1

Messaging service Line reported 218.4 million active monthly users at the end of March, an increase of 6.4 percent year-on-year and 1.6 percent more than at the end of 2015. Its revenues rose a faster 21 percent year-on-year to USD 303 million. Advertising and content each acconted for 35 percent of revenue, followed by 22 percent from communication services. Advertising sales increased from 30 percent in Q1 2015, growing rapidly especially in markets outside of Japan, Line said. The company is concentratin

GLOBAL 25 APR 2016

Line Free Coins renamed Line Points

Communication app Line changed its 'Line Free Coins' service name to 'Line Points', effective from 25 April. The Free Coins icon on the More tab in the Line app will also be changed to the new Line Points icon. End-users can continue to earn Points in the same way they collected Free Coins, namely by watching videos or adding official accounts as friends. 

JAPAN 7 APR 2016

Line starts providing 10,000 BOT API trial accounts

Japanese mobile messaging provider Line announced the start of free provision of BOT API Trial Accounts ahead of its plans to open up access to its messaging API later in 2016. Line will begin distributing 10,000 free BOT API Trial Accounts from 7 April to third-party developers worldwide on a first-come-first-served basis. These accounts will allow developers to create bot accounts on Line. Interested parties can register via the Line Business Center (https://business.Line.me/en).

THAILAND 5 APR 2016

Line agrees payments partnership in Thailand

Japanese company Line announced the conclusion of a business partnership agreement in Thailand between its Line Biz Plus legal entity, provider of the Line Pay mobile payment platform, and BSS Holdings, provider of Rabbit smart cards for mass transit systems and offline e-payment at retail in Thailand. BSS Holdings is a wholly owned subsidiary of BTS Group Holdings. As part of this agreement, BSS Holdings will buy enough newly issued shares from Line Biz Plus Limited to gain 50 percent ownership in the comp

GLOBAL 15 MRT 2016

Line adds group call feature to Line app 

Line announced the addition of a new group call feature to the latest version of the Line app (iPhone and Android v.5.11, and Windows Desktop v.4.5), enabling users to participate in voice calls within their group or multiple person chats. The service will first be released to countries and regions outside of Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, and Indonesia and will be expanded to these countries following after. In addition, the service will be expanded to Mac version of Line. The feature offers free voice chats wit

GLOBAL 4 MRT 2016

Line planning IPO before summer's end - report

Mobile messaging app Line is planning an IPO of up to USD 3 billion in New York and Tokyo, Reuters reported, citing sources close to the deal. Preparations are being made for the listing, which is expected to take place before the end of the summer in the northern hemisphere. The listing will take place on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and either the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq. Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Nomura are working on the deal.

ASIA 29 JAN 2016

Line revenues increase 26% in Q4

Mobile messaging provider Line reportred revenues of JPY 32.6 billion for the fourth quarter, up 26 percent year-on-year. Revenues for the full year were up 40 percent to  JPY 120.7 billion, of which 41 percent came from content like games, 24 percent from communication including its popular stickers, 30 percent from advertising and 5 percent from other services. Line said it had 215 million monthly active users at the end of 2015, of which 145 million were in its top four markets of Japan, Taiwan, Thailand

Just In

19 DEC 16:42

SLT-Mobitel launches 5G network in Sri Lanka

19 DEC 16:19

Dialog Axiata launches 5G network, connects 1.5 million subscribers

19 DEC 15:56

UK govt to ban AI-enabled nudification apps to protect women, girls

19 DEC 15:42

3 UK launches last-minute Christmas sale

Commentary

13:56

Video market set for slower growth ahead

11:38

Netflix buys Warner Bros to deepen content catalogue

11:11

KPN's mixed performance in Q3 raises questions for strategy day

15:26

Stock markets breaking records but what happened to Odido's IPO plans?

Background

01:04

The week in telecom: Wi-Fi bolt-ons take off to boost broadband growth, video market works on consolidation

01:39

The week in telecom: Netflix wins bidding for Warner Bros, Apple poaches new execs, Samsung debuts trifold

13:51

Proximus vs. Telenet: Proximus performs better in Q3 while Telenet uses up cash

14:16

Proximus Domestic still struggling with low margins

Complete profile

Before downloading the whitepaper, we would like to ask you to complete your profile with company and position. After confirming you will receive the white paper.