On January 27th, Shenzhen Xunlei Network Technology Co., Ltd. (Xunlei) announced its acquisition of the Tiger Puff website for 500 million yuan (RMB). Tiger Puff was once valued as high as 7.722 billion yuan.
According to reports from various Chinese media outlets such as Sina and Ti Media, Xunlei announced on January 27th that it had reached an agreement with the operator of Tiger Puff, Shanghai Kuang Hui Internet Technology Co., Ltd., to acquire the company for 500 million yuan in cash. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2025.
This news became a hot search on Baidu on January 28th.
Public information shows that Tiger Puff is a specialized online community website mainly focused on sports events and daily life, and it owns the largest sports internet platform in China – the Tiger Puff Sports Network. It has over 100 million users, with 80 million active users, of which over 90% are male.
Xunlei’s Chairman and CEO, Li Jinbo, stated that the acquisition of Tiger Puff will create strong synergies between Xunlei and Tiger Puff, leveraging Xunlei’s vast user base and technological advantages in internet content transmission, combined with Tiger Puff’s high-quality sports content and active community. This will promote content downloads, community interactions, and sports consumption among loyal user groups.
However, as reported by “Xiaoxiang Morning Post” on January 28th, due to its overly vertical content and a predominantly ad-based revenue structure, Tiger Puff has comparatively weak risk resistance. In the past decade, Tiger Puff has attempted to go public twice, both ending in failure. Its highest valuation once reached 7.722 billion. Subsequent failures in value-added innovation, coupled with events like the pandemic, have posed significant challenges.
Regarding this acquisition, netizen “Wonderful and Gratifying Chestnut 2” commented: “Xunlei’s acquisition of Tiger Puff seems to be the combination of technology and sports, but let’s not forget the risks of technology companies acquiring, especially in terms of cultural differences and user groups. Poor integration could result in 1+1<2."
Public information shows that Shenzhen Xunlei Network Technology Co., Ltd. was established on January 29th, 2003, with its registered address in Shenzhen Bay Technology Ecological Park in Nanshan District, Shenzhen. Its business scope includes software development, consulting, services, hardware and chip design development, and sales.