Ultrasonic scandal takes toll on Snowbird's IPO

Snowbird AG's initial public offering in Germany was hurt by the disappearance of executives at Ultrasonic AG, a Chinese shoemaker listed in Frankfurt, according to the firm managing the IPO for the Chinese down processor.

"It's been bad luck that the Ultrasonic scandal hit in the middle of our subscription period and negatively impacted the marketing of the Snowbird IPO," Michael Kott, chief executive officer of CM-Equity AG & Co KG Financial Services, the Munich-based company managing the offering, said in an interview. "We only were able to sell about 20 percent of what we had aimed for."

Shares of Chinese companies that included fashion label VanCamel AG and Tintbright AG, a textile producer, have declined since Ultrasonic CEO Wu Qingyong was fired last week after he and his son, the chief operating officer, disappeared and the shoemaker's cash went missing. The executive said in an interview on Wednesday in China that he borrowed company money for personal use and planned to pay it back later this month.