Cheetah Mobile ADRs Drop After Google Disables Accounts

By Robb M. Stewart

Cheetah Mobile Inc.'s American depositary receipts were down sharply Friday after it said Google had pulled accounts with the mobile Internet company.

Cheetah, which has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since May 2014, was down 15% to $3.06.

The company said it had been informed by Google that Google Play Store, Google AdMob and Google AdManager accounts were disabled on Thursday and associated contracts will be terminated. In the first nine months of 2019, Cheetah Mobile generated about 23% of its revenue from Google, including from the mobile advertising business and the purchase and consumption of virtual items by users via Google as a channel.

Cheetah said that according to Google the decision was made because some of the company's apps hadn't been compliant with Google policies, resulting in certain invalid traffic.

It added it was in continuous communication with Google to appeal the decision, clarify any misunderstanding and adopt any requisite remedial measures to restore the disabled accounts but an appeals process could be time-consuming and there was no guarantee it will be successful.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 21, 2020 12:18 ET (17:18 GMT)

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