Deals
Baidu's Netflix-Style App Marks Bumper Year for China Tech IPOs
- IQiyi is working with Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, BofA
- Chinese IPOs expected for 2018 include Xiaomi, Tencent Music
The iQiYi mobile phone app.
Photographer: Da qing/AP Photo
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Baidu Inc.’s Netflix-style video streaming service has filed for a U.S. initial public offering, revealing tremendous growth but also the enormous losses that came from competing against larger Chinese internet rivals Alibaba and Tencent.
IQiyi Inc.’s prospectus put forward an offering size of $1.5 billion, a placeholder amount that’s likely to change as the Beijing-based company gauges investors’ reception to its debut. Its float heralds a spate of highly anticipated debuts this year from the likes of Xiaomi Corp. and Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s music arm. IQiyi was said to be aiming for a public market valuation of as much as $10 billion.