Dangdang's Near-Divorced Founding Couple Air Dirty Laundry Online
Zhang Yushuo
DATE:  Oct 24 2019
/ SOURCE:  yicai
Dangdang's Near-Divorced Founding Couple Air Dirty Laundry Online Dangdang's Near-Divorced Founding Couple Air Dirty Laundry Online

(Yicai Global) Oct. 24 -- Li Guoqing and Yu Yu, the husband and wife founders of Chinese e-commerce platform Dangdang, have publicly chided each other online as their marriage looks to be nearing an end.

Li plans to take Yu to court for slander after she claimed yesterday that he was an abusive and unfaithful husband, according to a post he left on Weibo early this morning.

Yu posted on Li's Moments, a group sharing feature on WeChat, saying that he had taken CNY130 million (USD18.4 million) in cash from their home, abused her and was having an affair with a man, media outlet 36Kr reported. Yu also alleged that Li often throws things at home, neglects his family and uses public relations to manipulate the media. Li lies about everything and has failed to be responsible for his family, investors and co-workers, she added.

Li filed for divorce in July and the pair were due in court on Oct. 17, but his wife refused to agree to split saying their relationship was fine, he said on Weibo yesterday. Li believes Yu is trying to take ownership of their joint property, accumulated over 30 years of marriage, and said he would fight for his shares in the company until the bitter end.

The pair founded Dangdang in November 1999 and took it public on the New York Stock Exchange 11 years later, making it China's first US-listed business-to-consumer online marketplace. The Beijing-based company privatized in 2016 after losing three quarters of its value, falling to USD6 a share after going public at USD24.50 a pop.

In a video interview two weeks ago, Li broke a cup and claimed that Yu was playing dirty to try and force him out of the company. She did not respond.

Editor: James Boynton

Follow Yicai Global on
Keywords:   Dangdang,Founders,Divorce