This was a securities fraud class action against JOYY Inc. f/k/a YY, Inc. (“JOYY” or the “Company”) and its most senior executives, filed on behalf of all investors who purchased or otherwise acquired JOYY securities between April 28, 2016 and November 18, 2020 (the “Class Period”).
JOYY'S ALLEGED FRAUD
Based in Guangzhou, China, JOYY is a social media platform. The Company operates live-streaming platforms, including YY Live and Bigo Live, which offer music and dance shows, talk shows, sports and online dating. JOYY’s American Depository Receipts (“ADRs”) trade on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticker symbol “YY.”
Commenced on November 20, 2020, the case arised from an alleged fraud designed to inflate JOYY’s reported number of users and financial results and enrich corporate insiders. Specifically, throughout the Class Period, Defendants touted its rising revenues, attributing the growth to the increase in paying users. Defendants also promoted its $1.5 billion acquisition of Bigo, a company owned by David Xueling Li, Chairman and acting CEO of JOYY, claiming Bigo Live was a “leading global live streaming platform,” which “has delivered both rapid user growth and significant monetization progress,” “making it one of the fastest growing internet companies worldwide.”
On November 18, 2020, the truth emerged when research firm Muddy Waters Capital published a scathing report, entitled “YY: You Can’t Make This Stuff Up. Well . . . Actually You Can.” Muddy Waters accused JOYY of being a multibillion-dollar fraud. In particular, Muddy Waters alleged that that: (1) JOYY dramatically overstated its revenues from live streaming sources; (2) the majority of users at any given time were bots; (3) the Company utilized these bots to effect a round-tripping scheme that manufactured the false appearance of revenues; (4) the Company overstated its cash reserves; and (5) the Company’s acquisition of Bigo was largely contrived to benefit corporate insiders.
On this news, JOYY’s ADRs fell $26.53 per share, or 26.4%, to close at $73.66 per share on November 18, 2020, damaging investors.
On February 23, 2021, the court appointed two individual investors as Co-Lead Plaintiffs and approved their selection of Hagens Berman to serve as Co-Lead Counsel for the Class.
