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Chinese Internet IPOs continue to fill calendar

July 6, 2011

Despite recent apprehension toward Chinese IPOs in light of instances of outright fraud, skepticism about business models and/or inadequate financial controls, Xunlei Limited, which announced pricing terms for its IPO late Friday, stands to become the 12th US-listed Chinese IPO in 2011 and the 8th Internet-based China-based company to tap the public markets this year.

Xunlei Limited, a consumer Internet platform enabling users to access and manage digital media in China, plans to raise $114 million by selling 7.6 million ADSs at a price range of $14 to $16 per ADS. At the mid-point of the proposed range, Xunlei Limited will command a fully diluted market value of $1 billion. The Shenzhen, China-based company plans to list on the NASDAQ under the symbol XNET. J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank Securities are the lead underwriters on the deal, with Cowen and Company, Needham & Company and Stifel Nicolaus Weisel acting as co-managers. The deal is expected to price Tuesday, July 19 for trading the next day.

As a group, the 12 US-listed Chinese IPOs have raised $1.7 billion but are down 13% on average from their respective offer prices. The worst performing US-listed Chinese IPOs year-to-date are mobile security software company NetQin Mobile (NQ; down 54%), mobile technology platform vendor Trunkbow International (TBOW; down 41%), and Chinese social networking company Renren (RENN; down 34%). As of July 1st, eight of the 11 US-listed Chinese IPOs are trading below issue price.