China’s IPO season looks to be in full swing as the latest company from China files with the SEC, packaged travel tour website Tuniu. The Nanjing-based company plans to raise US$120 million when it lists under the symbol “TOUR” (hat-tip to 36kr for spotting). The company sells domestic and international travel booking services, specializing in holiday tour packages. According to the prospectus filed with the SEC, 70 percent of all bookings came from foreign leisure travel products and services. Tuniu is partnered with over 3,000 travel suppliers across 70 countries, including more than 1,000 tourist attractions. The site has also become a source for prospective travelers to find ratings and reviews on those attractions. The site has 85 million registered users with 20,000 comments on travel destinations. Tuniu was founded in 2006 and booked US$322 million in sales last year, up 75 percent on the previous year. Gross profits nearly hit US$20 million last year. Tuniu’s executives and board members currently hold 86.4 percent of the company. The number of shares and their price has not yet been announced. Competitors include Tours4Fun - acquired by Ctrip for US$100 million in January – along with recently-funded Yikuaiqu, Lvmama, and 17u. The latter just raised a US$82 million funding round and is also rumored to be preparing for an IPO. Tuniu is the latest in a string of US IPO filings in recent weeks. Ecommerce retailer JD looks to raise US$2 billion; Twitter-like Sina Weibo is aiming at US$437 million; Kingsoft subsidiary Cheetah Mobile wants US$300 million; daily deals site Jumei is rumored to have filed confidentially with the SEC; and ecommerce titan Alibaba says it will file in New York.
Source: TECHINASIA
Source: TECHINASIA
