Taiwan-based M17 Entertainment, the parent company of Singapore’s dating and networking app Paktor, has delayed its scheduled trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
The company was scheduled to start trading on the bourse on Thursday but the trading day ended without any activity from the entertainment company. TechCrunch first reported the delay.
Earlier on Thursday, the live streaming operator had announced that its IPO roadshow had raised $60.1 million, lower than its original target of $115 million. M17 priced its 7.51 million American Depository Receipts (ADR) at $8 each. Each ADS represents eight Class A ordinary shares of the company
DEALSTREETASIA reached out to M17 on Friday for comment. A company official, who refused to be identified, confirmed that the “commencement of trading was delayed yesterday” but did not provide further details, citing listing regulations.
“Please note that as an SEC regulation, NYSE listed company such as M17 are restricted from interviews 30 days post listing. We will get back to you if we have more details,” the executive said.
In its filing last month, M17 Entertainment said it will use the proceeds of the planned IPO to finance the expansion of its business in Japan and other new markets.
It will also allocate funding for content development and to finance strategic merger and acquisition opportunities, although the company has not identified any targets yet.
Led by veteran media and entertainment executives, M17 Entertainment operates the largest live streaming platform by revenue in Asia, with a market share of 19.2 per cent in the first quarter of this year. It was formed in April 2017 with the merger of Singapore-based Paktor Group and Taiwan-based 17 Media, a regional live-streaming company.
The company’s main dating applications are Paktor and Goodnight.
Paktor, founded by Joseph Phua in May 2013, is a personal dating app often dubbed the “Tinder of Southeast Asia”. Since the merger with 17 Media, Paktor has expanded beyond the shores of Singapore and launched its own offline dating service, GaiGai.
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