NEW YORK, July 27 (Xinhua) -- "Wanda Sports is very confident in the outlook of China's sports industry and believes the sports market in China could be a most promising one across the world," said Yang Hengming, chief executive officer (CEO) of the company.
As a sports-related unit of Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, Wanda Sports Group Co. started trading Friday with initial public offering (IPO) of some 23.8 million American depository shares (ADSs) priced at eight U.S. dollars per ADS on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol of "WSG."
The three core businesses of Wanda Sports, namely the mass participation, spectator sports, and digital, production, sports solutions (DPSS), are competitive among the world's leading players in the sports industry. "Over the past three years, Wanda Sports has made significant progress in terms of revenue, profit and cash flow. Our business in China develops notably well," Yang told Xinhua Friday after its IPO ceremony.
"Wanda Sports is going to play a greater role in China's sports market and is dedicated to advancing the market at large," said Yang.
Yang believes that being listed on Nasdaq fits Wanda Sports's global presence well and will help increase its international visibility.
Wanda Sports has expanded the footprint of its business to Europe, North America and Asia with some 60 overseas offices and more than 1,600 employees across the world.
Considering the valuation of the company and current market conditions, Wanda Sports adjusted down the size of its offering to approximately 190.4 million dollars.
"We understand that some investors might like to see the performance of Wanda Sports on the stock market before they make further investment, and we believe Wanda Sports will be able to deliver long-term rewards to the shareholders," said Yang.
Nevertheless, investors showed tepid interest in the Chinese sports company in its trading debut. Wanda Sports opened at six dollars per share and ended at 5.16 dollars per share on Friday.
