Chinese social media giant Weibo is raising $700M to fund acquisitions

Weibo, the Twitter-like Chinese social network that is profitable unlike Twitter, is raising $700 million as it looks for acquisitions to continue the rocket ship growth its business has seen in 2017.


BEAM Team

28 Oct, 2017

Chinese social media giant Weibo is raising $700M to fund acquisitions | BEAMSTART News

- From our Sponsors -

Weibo, the Twitter-like Chinese social network that is profitable unlike Twitter, is raising $700 million as it looks for acquisitions to continue the rocket ship growth its business has seen in 2017.

The Beijing-based company, which is listed on the NASDAQ with a current market cap of $21 billion, announced today it will offer up to $700 million in convertible senior notes in order to finance “working capital needs and potential acquisitions of complementary businesses.”

Related: Create awareness & reach out to more people  

Any acquisitions are likely to be in China and could well focus on video and entertainment, where Weibo is finding serious traction, and ad tech, where it has made recent investments.

Beyond a valuation which is nearly double that of Twitter, which has struggled to get to anything close to profitability, the Chinese service has gained widespread attention for having a larger userbase than its U.S. peer and very impressive financials, too.

Weibo claims 159 million daily users — and 361 million monthly — and, according to unaudited figures released this week, its most recent quarterly profit reached a record $101.1 million up from a then-record $73.5 million in the previous quarter. It’s worth noting that the previous quarter had seen profits increase by 184 percent year-on-year so there’s plenty of momentum right now.

The company has credited its surging video and mobile ads business for the revenue jumps, with the Weibo platform rapidly standing out as a platform for entertainment and celebrity news for young generations in China.

Weibo’s biggest backers are parent firm Sina (media) and e-commerce giant Alibaba, both of which help funnel advertising revenue to the business. Together the two investors own more than 70 percent of Weibo.

Related:

- From our Sponsors -

Latest Jobs

Founding Product Engineer (Frontend)

Miracle

California,

Full Time

USD 140000 — USD 170000 yearly

Generalist Hacker - GTM specialist

Turing Labs Inc.

California,

Contract

USD 50000 — USD 100000 yearly

Software Engineer (New Grad to Mid-Level)

Foundry

California,

Full Time

USD 100000 — USD 150000 yearly

Growth Marketer

Harper

California,

Full Time

USD 100000 — USD 140000 yearly

Founding Head of Growth

SwiftSku

New York,

Full Time

USD 90000 — USD 210000 yearly

Founding Growth Marketer

Usul

California,

Full Time

USD 100000 — USD 180000 yearly

Taipei Software Engineer

RentHop

Full Time

Salary Undisclosed

Senior Data Analyst

Tydo

California,

Full Time

USD 110000 — USD 150000 yearly

Business Development Representative

Pump.co

California,

Full Time

Salary Undisclosed

Staff Infrastructure Software Engineer

Vapi

California,

Full Time

USD 250000 — USD 400000 yearly

BEAMSTART is a hub for everything Startups, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation. Connect with a global community of people, and stay updated with the latest startup jobs, news, and discussions.

 
© 2016 - 2025 BEAMSTART. All Rights Reserved (Legal).