Paktor Umbrella M17 Withdraws Initial Public Offering

M17 Entertainment, umbrella company to Singaporean dating app Paktor, has officially withdrawn its USA IPO following a delay. The firm notified the NYSE of the withdrawal in a press statement.

There was no full explanation of the reasons for the cancellation, though Deal Street Asia reports that the company sees its reasons as being “in line with previous announcements relating to the postponement”.

One previous announcement noted that “issues related to the settlement of American Depositary Shares (‘ADSs’) by specific IPO investors” were one reason for holding off on the IPO.

The company has also highlighted $35 million in private investment secured around the same time, saying: “This new round of funding will enable the company to continue to have sufficient flexibility and flexibility in its operations as a non-public offering company and continue to grow in the already developed Asian region.”

The IPO had raised just over $60 million, falling considerably short of its initial target of $115 million.

One of the reasons for the shortcoming may be a reported rise in scepticism regarding the video streaming model. M17 Entertainment has around 20% of the Asian live video streaming market.

A tiny minority of users contribute over 12% of revenue by ‘gifting’ in huge amounts, however, and the company could be hit significantly should they migrate to another platform.

Seeking Alpha has also reported a slight slowing in the demand for live video content in China, traditionally a market leader in the sector.

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