Tudou Holdings, one of China's two leading online video websites, raised $174 million by offering 6 million ADSs (7% insider) at $29, the midpoint of the $28 to $30 range. Tudou.com enables its users to watch, upload, rate, comment on and recommend mostly user-generated online video clips. Since launching in 2005, Tudou has built up a massive user base that now covers more than 40% of China's Internet population.
Tudou's users are able to choose from an impressive library of over 48.2 million clips, which are mostly user-generated, though some are professionally licensed or developed in-house. The company incentivizes users to create content by offering monetary rewards and holding signature industry events such as the Tudou Video Festival. Tudou has also obtained licenses for 440 TV series, 400 movies and 130 variety shows from over 40 third-party premium content licensors. Its licensed content accounts for 55% of traffic, with user-generated content representing 45%.
Tudou Holdings plans to list on the NASDAQ under the symbol TUDO. Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank Securities acted as lead managers on the deal.
