Weibo Opens, Moves Sharply Higher

Weibo WB issued a 16.8 million share IPO raising $285.6 million.  Initial offering price is set at $17, at the low end of $17 to $19 expected range.  Shares opened for trading at $16.27 and quickly moved higher to its current price of $18.80, a 15% gain from the open and a 10% gain for IPO investors.

Specializing in creation, distribution, and discovery of Chinese-language content, Weibo is a social media platform that is like a cross between Twitter TWTR and Facebook FB.  The website offers users the ability to follow each others feeds, post comments and engage in public discusses surrounding popular events and breaking news.

Weibo expects to repay parent company, SINA, $250 million from the net proceeds of the offering.  The company will use the remainder of the proceeds to be used for investing in technology, infrastructure, product development, sales and marketing, and other general corporate purposes.

Disclosure: At the time of this writing, the author holds no positions in any previously mentioned securities. He may choose to hold long or short positions without notice in the future.