Weibo chairman, state firm plan to take China’s Twitter private: Sources

HONG KONG: Nasdaq-listed Weibo Corp’s chairman and a Chinese state investor plan to take China’s answer to Twitter private, sources told Reuters, sending its shares as much as 50% higher on Tuesday.

A deal could value Weibo at more than $20 billion, facilitate shareholder Alibaba’s exit and see Weibo eventually relist in China to capitalise on higher valuations, the sources said.

Chairman Charles Chao’s holding company New Wave, Weibo’s top stakeholder, is teaming up with a Shanghai-based state company to form a consortium for the deal, three sources said, without disclosing the state firm’s identity.