Chinese internet security firm coming home from US valued at US$62bn, drops 10pc on Shanghai debut
Qihoo 360 Technology, which has listed through back door deal with Shanghai lift maker SJEC, is the most valuable software stock in the A-share market
Qihoo 360 Technology, a Chinese internet security company previously listed in New York, slumped by the daily limit of 10 per cent on its debut in Shanghai on Wednesday after it returned to Chinese stock markets through a back door listing. Its market cap still surpassed US$62 billion – a sevenfold increase on its previous value in the US market.
Qihoo 360, China’s largest internet security company, delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in June 2016 and announced a back door listing deal on November 6, 2017, with Shanghai-listed lift maker SJEC.
SJEC agreed to buy the software company through an asset swap and cash injection, in a deal that valued Qihoo 360 at 50.41 billion yuan (US$7.96 billion). On Wednesday, SJEC changed its stock name to “360 Security Technology” and resumed trading after a two-week suspension.
Its shares opened higher but soon slipped into negative territory, and dropped by the daily limit to close at 56.92 yuan.
Qihoo 360’s total market cap stood at 385 billion yuan (US$62 billion), compared with its previous value of about US$9 billion in the US stock market before its delisting. It is now the most valuable software stock in the A-share market, according to Bloomberg.