The consortium includes Momo CEO and co-founder Tang Yan, as well as investors such as Sequoia Capital China and Matrix Partners China. It holds nearly 48 per cent of outstanding shares, and 84 per cent of the voting power. 

The law firm also said that Momo’s shares closed at a high of US$19.11 on May 27. But in the non-binding preliminary proposal, the consortium offered to purchase each American depositary receipt (ADR) for US$18.90.

The offer represents a 20.5 per cent premium on the company’s closing price of $17.24 on June 22. 

Momo, which held its initial public offering in December, is the latest in a string of Chinese tech companies that have received buyout offers recently. If successful, the deal would be valued at US$1.9 billion.

More Chinese internet companies are looking to delist in the United States in the belief they can receive higher valuations in the Chinese stock market. 

Many believe “they are not being fully appreciated by US investors,” Henry Guo, an analyst at Summit Research Partners, told Bloomberg.

Favourable government policies in China that make it easier for companies under a variable interest entity (VIE) structure to list in the country also encourage China companies to re-list at home.

In a recent report, Barclays predicted that while the privatisation trend among Chinese internet companies is likely to continue, large-cap players such as e-commerce giant Alibaba and China’s top search engine Baidu are unlikely to follow suit.

This is not the first time Momo has found itself involved in controversy. 

Prior to that, the app picked up an unsavoury reputation online for facilitating one night stands in China.