Why Are JOYY Shares Trading Higher Today?

JOYY Inc's YY top two shareholders, its Chairman David Li and Xiaomi Corp XIACY founder Lei Jun, plan to take the social media company private in a deal at a valuation of up to $8 billion, Reuters reports.
JOYY deserves a higher valuation as per the principal shareholders. The privatization plans coincide with heightened U.S. regulatory scrutiny on Chinese companies following political faceoffs.
Li and Jun seek $75-$100 per share to take the cash-rich JOYY private, implying a premium of 50%-100% to the share's average price over the past month and 32.8%-77% on the August 25 closing price of $56.47.
Li owned 23.2% with a 76% voting power. Jun had a 7.8% stake in JOYY. They aim to secure a loan using JOYY's $4.9 billion cash and cash equivalents as collateral.
They intend to spin off JOYY's Singapore-based Bigo, which runs a live streaming platform Bigo Live and list it in Asia, likely in Hong Kong, to tap the higher valuations.
JOYY previously disclosed plans to divest its video-based entertainment live streaming business in China to Baidu Inc BIDU.
Price Action: YY shares traded higher by 7.05% at $60.45 in the market session on the last check Thursday.