Weibo Unveils Estimated IPO Terms

Social-media service Weibo Corp., often called "the Twitter of China," on Friday unveiled estimated terms for an initial public offering of about 20 million American depositary shares.

Weibo's owner, Sina Corp. (SINA), last month said it was taking the company public with a plan to raise up to $500 million in an IPO. The move to go public came four months after Twitter's own IPO

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Weibo estimated ADRs will price between $17 to $19 apiece.

Weibo estimates it will receive net proceeds from the IPO, as well as a concurrent private placement from e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., of about $377.2 million, or up to nearly $429 million if underwriters purchase additional ADRs.

Those estimates are based on the assumption the IPO prices at the midpoint of the range, Weibo said.

Weibo intends to use the proceeds to enhance its brand recognition, retain talented employees by providing equity incentives and obtain additional capital. It also intends to use about $250 million to repay loans owned to Sina.

Weibo's revenue nearly doubled last year to $188.3 million, but the company also lost $38.1 million. In terms of users, Weibo is about half the size of Twitter.

The ADRs are expected to be listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol WB.

Write to John Kell at [e-mail]

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires