Ctrip, China’s largest online travel firm, in talks with investors to delist from Nasdaq amid rising tension: sources
- Ctrip posted a 42 per cent year on year drop in net revenue in the first quarter of 2020 and a net loss of US$754 million
- Ctrip’s shares have fallen 17 per cent year to date while the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index has gained 22 per cent over the same period
The management of China’s largest online travel firm, with a current market value of US$16.5 billion, has reached out to a number of financial and strategic investors including private equity firms and domestic tech companies about joining a take-private deal, said four people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Ctrip’s move comes as US-listed Chinese companies face tightened scrutiny and more strict audit requirements from US regulators, while geopolitical tensions escalate between the world’s two largest economies. Those have prompted a number of Chinese companies to abandon a New York listing and move instead to an exchange closer to home.
Ctrip’s delisting discussions, which have not been reported previously, are at an early stage and are subject to change, cautioned the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is not public.
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China prepares to open Hainan Ocean Flower Island, the world's largest man-made tourist isle
Ctrip, also known as Trip.com Group, declined to comment.
There have been six announced take-privates of US-listed Chinese companies worth US$9.1 billion so far this year, showed Refinitiv data. The average premiums paid by buyers, however, almost halved to 22 per cent from 42 per cent last year.
