SCMP – July 11 – AI will be a key focus for Tantan this year, said CEO Yu Wang. The technology will be used to help the company accurately identify new users, boost the accuracy of advertising, as well as contributing to growth in terms of user numbers and revenues, he said. Mobile dating is a popular trend in China where the number of smartphones outstripped the country's 1.4B population. Even WeChat, the country's most popular messaging app owned by Tencent, whose active monthly users have topped nearly 1B, offers apps such as Shake and Drifting Bottle that give its users more opportunities to get in touch with potential dates. Momo, another popular location-based hook-up app in China, acquired Tantan in February for $760M. Unlike Momo and Tantan, which are mostly favoured by younger users who are more inclined to have casual dates, a number of Chinese apps, such as Jiayuan and Baihe, specifically target those looking for a life-long partner. Revenue generated by China's online dating industry reached 4B yuan ($603M) in 2017, according to iResearch.
Category: Momo
Momo Shares Fell 5% After A Short Seller Accusations
CAIXIN GLOBAL – June 28 – Shares of dating app operator Momo fell by ~5% in the latest trading session on Wall Street, after a short seller accused the company of selectively disclosing and concealing important news for investors. Spruce Point said Momo "selectively reveals/conceals material disclosures from investors and is diverting attention from new challenges in live video," referring to a livestreaming format that has become highly popular in China. The format's rapid rise has attracted attention from regulators worried about problematic broadcasts that include material like pornography and false claims by sellers of products and services.
by Yang Ge
See full article at Caixin Global
Momo Proposed To Offer $650M Convertible Senior Notes
PR NEWSWIRE – June 26 – Momo, a leading mobile social networking platform in China, announced that it proposes to offer $650M in aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes due 2025. The Notes will mature on July 1, 2025. The Company intends to grant the initial purchasers in the Offering a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional $100M principal amount of the Notes. The Notes will be convertible into Momo's American depositary shares, at the option of the holders, in integral multiples of $1k principal amount, at any time prior to the close of business on the second business day immediately preceding the maturity date. Momo will not have the right to redeem the Notes prior to maturity, except in the event of certain changes to the tax laws or their application or interpretation. Holders of the Notes will have the right to require the Company to repurchase all or part of their Notes in cash on July 1, 2023, or in the event of certain fundamental changes. The Company plans to use the net proceeds of the Offering to repay the $300M bank loan facility it entered into in May 2018 to partially finance its acquisition of Tantan.
Live-streaming Video Helped Momo Surpass $10B In Market Value
SCMP – June 13 – Momo, whose net income rose 60% to a record $129.9M in the March quarter, now has a higher market capitalisation than Sina Corp. Momo's share price increase almost fourfold since its IPO in Dec 2014, when its shares sold at $13.50 each. That pushed up Momo's market capitalisation to $10.8B. Snapchat, by comparison, has a market value of $16.6B. Launched in 2011, Momo started as a hook-up app for young Chinese people. The company entered China's live-streaming market in Nov 2015 after spotting the shift to video as a new medium for young people to interact and share content. Live streaming video has enabled Momo to make social networking more diverse in the app. In the past few years, Momo has introduced karaoke, audio chat room, short video and a collection of interactive social games, including popular party game Werewolf, to its users. A recent Deloitte report forecast the Chinese live-streaming market to have viewer numbers topping 456M this year. Tantan, the rival Tinder-like online dating app acquired by Momo last month, is expected to be the company's new growth engine, according to Momo.
What’s Next For Momo After Touching 52-Week High?
WEEKLY HUB – June 4 – The stock of Momo hit a new 52-week high and has $52.11 target. The 6 months bullish chart indicates low risk for the $10B company. If the $52.11 price target is reached, the company will be worth $505M more. Momo has risen 1.41% since June 4, 2017 and is uptrending. It has underperformed by 11.16% the S&P500. Analysts await Momo to report earnings on August, 28. They expect $0.55 earnings per share, up 89.66 % or $0.26 from last year's $0.29 per share. Momo's profit will be $112M for 22.56 P/E if the $0.55 EPS becomes a reality.
by Maria Brooks
The full article was originally published at Weekly Hub, but is no longer available.
Momo Q1 Results: Revenue Up 64%
PR NEWSWIRE – May 29 – Momo's Q1 net revenue increased 64% YOY to $435M. The total live video service revenues were $371.5M, an increase of 74.8%. Net income increased to $130M. Monthly Active Users were 103M in Q1 2018, compared to 85M in Q1 2017. Total paying users of our live video service and value-added service were 8.1M in Q1 2018, compared to 7M in Q1 2017.
Momo Successfuly Closing Tantan Transaction
PR NEWSWIRE – May 11 – Momo has successfully closed the transaction with regard to its acquisition of 100% equity stake of Tantan Limited, previously announced on Feb 23, 2018. Momo is one of China's leading mobile-based social and entertainment platforms.
See full article at PR Newswire
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Why Momo Shares Rose 13% In March
THE MOTLEY FOOL – Apr 16 – Momo shares jumped 9% on March 7 upon the release of fourth-quarter and full-year 2017 earnings. The company continued to benefit from growth in live video services, which, at $328M, accounted for 85% of total revenue during the quarter. During March, shares also continued to benefit from Momo's announcement that it's acquiring privately held Chinese social and dating app provider Tantan. Momo will pay $600.9M in cash and fork over 5.3M newly issued Class A ordinary shares in the transaction.
See full article at Fox Business
Technology Is Changing How China’s Youth Find Love
by Christopher Udemans
See full article at Technode
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Match Group Also Sues Chinese Dating App Tantan
LAW360 – Mar 20 – Match Group has filed another intellectual property lawsuit. This time against Tantan, a dating service billed as "China's Tinder". Match Group is accusing Tantan of infringing its design patents and trademarks by copying Tinder's swiping system including "nearly identical" match screen. Tantan was acquired by Chinese social media app Momo for $760M last month.
by Bill Donahue
See full article at Law360