This article only represents the author's own views.
It wasn’t a very happy New Year for Joyy Inc. (JOYY.US), which kicked off 2024 by announcing the collapse of its 3-year-old deal to sell its China-based livestreaming business to Baidu (BIDU.US; 9888.HK) for $3.6 billion.
The deal looked like a winner for Joyy when it was announced back in 2020, allowing the company to offload a business in China’s sensitive livestreaming sector that has become a hotbed for regulatory crackdowns. In addition to the big price tag, the sale would have transformed Joyy to a Singaporean company whose main business was its similar Bigo livestreaming business, which was out of the grasp of Chinese regulators with its focus on Southeast Asia, Europe and the Middle East.