Kim Dotcom's new company Mega to list on New Zealand stock exchange
Company founded by indicted entrepreneur Kim Dotcom says it is worth HK$1.39b and trading will begin soon - with the help of reverse takeover
Mega, the internet file-storage company launched last year by the indicted entrepreneur Kim Dotcom, announced plans yesterday to list on New Zealand's stock market.
Mega plans to achieve the listing through a manoeuvre that is known as a reverse takeover, using a small company that is already listed on the exchange as a vehicle.
Chief executive Stephen Hall said that he hoped trading would begin in early June.
The flamboyant Dotcom was born Kim Schmitz in Germany before legally changing his name. He founded the Hong Kong-based file-sharing site Mega-upload, which became wildly popular.
He lived for a time in Wan Chai, but moved to New Zealand and was living in a rural mansion there when dozens of armed law enforcement officers stormed his home in a dramatic 2012 raid. They arrested him, shutting down his site, and freezing his bank accounts. He spent a month in jail before being released on bail.
US prosecutors accuse Dotcom of racketeering by facilitating the widespread illegal downloading of songs and movies, and they are trying to extradite him and his colleagues to face trial in the US. The extradition hearing has been delayed several times and is now scheduled for July.
