1. PIVOT FROM ASIA: THE LINE CORP.
IPO AS A MICRO-CASE
Presented by Ms. Ellen Kountz & M. Hermann Djoumessi
17 February 2017
Bloomberg Conference, Paris, France

2. BLOOMBERG NEWS: FEBRUARY 17, 2020
RECORD-BREAKING BUYOUT
OF FACEBOOK BY LINE
CORP.!

3. FINANCE STUDENTS WORLDWIDE MUST ALWAYS
BE CONFRONTED WITH THE QUESTION….
• Do you believe markets are EFFICIENT?
• If YES, you believe in PASSIVE MANAGEMENT STYLE
• If NO, you belive in ACTIVE MANAGEMENT STYLE

4. OF ALL THE COMPANIES TO STUDY, WHY
LINE CORP.?
• The GAFA are over-researched
• The Pan-Asian space is under-reported
• All students can immediately relate to OWNING a smartphone
and USING a Messaging App

5. On July 13, 2016, market analyst Reiko Shofu of “Sensing
Asia” stated that LINE (ticker symbol: LN) “is overrated.
Their bottom line commercial viability is indeed in
question”. Nevertheless, LINE App is the largest tech IPO
of the year, raising over $1 billion, 20% of the firm’s value,
aggressively priced (increasing overall market
capitalization expectations from $5 billion to $6 billion
from June to July 2016) showing there is still room for new
entrants in the global messaging market.
CASE INTRODUCTION:
COMPELLING, INTERDISCIPLINARY,
BLENDED-LEARNING

6. LINE App Timeline
Primary Market
LINE App first launched in Japan in March 2011
LINE App reahes 100 million users in Japan in September 2012
LINE App reaches 200 million usersin Japan, now Japan's largest social network, in March 2013
LINE App tops 550 million users in 6 countries, with 150 million active accounts, in October 2014
Grey Market LINE App CEO Takeshi dezawa announces dual listing IPO in January 2016
Secondary Market LINE App successfully lists 22 million shares on NYSE on July 14, 2016 and 13 million shares on TSE on July 15, 2016
LINE App at a Glance
on-line & off-line strategy
elaborate and extensive sticker selection
Signficant market penetration in Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia and Thailand
Revenue breakdown : 22% sale of cartoon stickers, 35% advertising, 35% from gaming
Competitors include Facebook (WhatsApp), Twitter (Twitter), Microscoft (Skype), Tencent (WeChat),
Rakuten (Viber
Future growth : taxi booking, music streaming, mobile money
sources: Reuters on-line, June 10, 2016, WSJ on-line June 10, 2016 & Al-Jazeera YouTube July 14, 2016
CASE STRUCTURE CONTENT &
SEQUENCING

7. • Discussion Chunks & Decision Points
Bloom Taxonomy applied to LINE App Case for 1st year MSc students
Knowledge What is the market capitalization post-IPO? Did the Price / Earning ratio increase or decrease, why?
Comprehension
Can you explain what is happening when the initial offering is oversubscribed? The motives and
consequences of a dual listing?
Application
How would you organize information about shares denominated in two different currencies in a
diversified portfolio of equity assets?
Analysis
Why do you think the firm listed in two markets and what conclusions can you draw from this
strategic option?
BLOOM TAXONOMY FRAMEWORK

8. DEPLOYING THE CASE ACROSS A RANGE
OF ACADEMIC FIELDS
• Investor Relations (M2)
• Social Media & Networking (BBA)
• Corporate Strategy (M2 & MBA)
• Cross-Border Marketing (M2 & MBA)
• …in the future: Fintech, Electronic Money &
Financial Disintermediation
• Excel for Finance (BBA & M1)

9. DEMO ON BLOOMBERG TERMINAL

10. INVESTOR RELATIONS CLASS: STUDENT OUTPUT AND
ASSESSMENT
Anam, from Pakistan,
INSEEC Grande Ecole student Oskar, from Sweden,
Erasmus exchange student
Faniry, from Madagascar and Kelly,from Belgium
Erasmus exchange students

11. INVESTOR RELATIONS CLASS: STUDENT
OUTPUT AND ASSESSMENT
« I would have double-checked the numbers and figures
being presented myself…I would have more skepticism
about sources… »
« Most of the LINE presentations were about popularity:
meaning the cultural impact, with the number of users, the
services, the number of countries present. In a real-life situation,
to suggest to invest or not in LINE I would have focused on the
financial aspect… »

12. #EXCELADDICTS FB PAGE & TOSA
ASSESSMENT

13. PROFESSORS AT THE FOREFRONT OF BMC

14. DELIVERING BLENDED LEARNING SOLUTIONS IN
ENGLISH THROUGHOUT FRANCE

15. HERMANN DJOUMESSI, MA.
FINTECH Social Media Consultant & Crypto
Analyst:
• Master 1 IHECS (Brussels, Belgium)
• Master 2 London Metropolitan University (London,
UK)
• Hootsuite Certified
• EXCEL TOSA Expert
• Bloomberg Market Concepts Certified

16. • WEBSITE: www.admpawards.biz
• ++ Please visit our Sister page, for discussions and exchanges on ALL START-UPS in
AFRICA !! -- > >> https://www.facebook.com/groups/PANAMEDIAS/
• or here too:
• https://www.facebook.com/groups/PANAMEDIASMP/
• #ADMP is supporting the #ICDEC2017 IN Tunisia, an international conference on Digital
Economy in MAY2017 -->
• https://www.facebook.com/events/142773579530081/
• ** WORLD FOOTBALL & SPORTS NEWS --> https://www.facebook.com/AdfootNews/
• * World Sports & Fun (#NSFW) with focus on ABIDJAN (IVC) -->
https://www.facebook.com/AdSportAbidjan/
• FIND US also on :
• * Our Sister-Page, ADMP Awards, for Girls in the web, fly-girls, Female entrepreneur, Girlie
Girls and Iron Lady alike !! --> https://www.facebook.com/Lmr-Visa-Admp-Awards-
1765457307052494/
• #ADMP West+Africa, focuses on #Healtech, #Dronetech and Start+Ups in West+Africa --
> https://www.facebook.com/admpwestafrica/
• ** Team #ADMP/SETI2017, focuses on the SETI start-up week in Duala, Cameroon in
2017 - 15 000 vistors expected!! --> https://www.facebook.com/Team-ADMP-Seti2017-
354466718236312/
• FIND US also on :
• - #LIVESTREAMADDICTS > https://www.facebook.com/groups/LivestreamAddicts/
• - #TWITTERADDICTS > https://www.facebook.com/groups/twitteradicts/
• @BorderlineTV

17. THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION:
DJHERMANN@HOTMAIL.COM
CONTACT@ELLENKOUNTZ.COM