Pricey Purchase Plan for Popular WeChat Account Draws Regulator Scrutiny

ABOUT US

CX Tech is Caixin Global's real-time tech news portal, featuring 24-hour news, short-form analysis, and roundups from business and tech media in China.

TRENDING: Chinese Firm Uses Employee Data to Build AI Worker, Stoking Job Security Debate; China’s Sunrise Raises Over $140 Million for AI Inference Chip Push; Computing Shortage Forces Chinese AI Firms to Ration Services

LATEST: DJI Enters Heavy-Lift Drone Market With 200-Kilogram Payload Models; Apple Supplier Dongshan Precision Rallies on AI-Driven Demand; Horizon Robotics Unveils 5-Nanometer Integrated Auto Chip; In Depth: China’s AI Hiring Boom Belies a Struggling Job Market; China Unveils AI-Driven Plan to Build $14 Trillion Service Sector by 2030; X Square Robot Raises New Funds, Targets Home Trials by May; Computing Shortage Forces Chinese AI Firms to Ration Services; Moonshot AI Launches New Model With Improved Coding and Agent Capabilities; Chinese Firm Uses Employee Data to Build AI Worker, Stoking Job Security Debate; China’s Sunrise Raises Over $140 Million for AI Inference Chip Push; ByteDance’s Profit Plunges 70% on Aggressive AI Spending; Chinese-Built Robot Wins Beijing Half-Marathon; Chinese AI Robotics Startup TARS Raises $455 Million in Record Pre-A Round; Zhipu Acquires $53 Million Beijing Office as AI Operations Expand; Alibaba Unveils No-Code AI Tool to Build Apps in Minutes; McKinsey’s China Chief Explains Why Some Businesses Haven’t Reaped the Benefits of AI; Alibaba Unveils HappyHorse After AI Model Tops Video Rankings Under Alias; Satellite Maker Spacety Raises $190 Million to Advance IPO Plans; Alibaba Revamps AI Structure With New Tech Committee; Chinese Robotics Startup Spirit AI Raises $145 Million

By Shi Rui and Han Wei / Apr 02, 2019 02:31 AM / Business & Tech

Photo: VCG

The Shenzhen Stock Exchange demanded that an online education company disclose more about its eye-popping plan to pay 1.5 billion yuan ($223 million) to acquire a popular WeChat account.

The regulator listed 29 questions on the business operation of the target asset and the buyer’s financing plan and financial facts, requiring a reply by April 5.

Shenzhen-listed Qtone Education Group raised market eyebrows in late March with a plan to make a share-for-share acquisition of “Wu Xiaobo Channel,” a WeChat account focusing on business analysis and opinion articles managed by Hangzhou Bajiuling Culture and Innovation — which is controlled by finance journalist Wu Xiaobo and his wife Shao Bingbing.

The inquiry reflects regulators’ caution over mergers and acquisitions of assets in new-media formats.

The Wu Xiaobo Channel has more than 2 million followers and was valued at 2 billion yuan in a financing round in 2017. The account makes money from several WeChat-related routes: advertising, subscriptions, and even online finance courses.

Share this article

Open WeChat and scan the QR code