Software maker Xunlei to launch IPO on NASDAQ

Chinese software maker Xunlei has published detailed plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) of up to US$200 million worth of American depositary shares on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol XNET, Dow Jones reported. Xunlei is seeking to raise cash to acquire content and build data centers; it also wants to offer equity incentives to talented employees. Xunlei’s core software product is Xunlei Downloader, which allows users to access and manage digital content. According to the company, the downloader was used for an average of 138 million downloads per day in 2010. For the quarter ended March 31, Xunlei profits rose 22% as net revenue nearly doubled to US$14.3 million. Xunlei generates revenue primarily from subscription services and online advertising.