A consortium made up of Autohome’s own CEO and some private equity firms has taken up Autohome Inc.’s buyout offer on Friday, April 15, in a deal that placed the Chinese car trading website operator's value at $3.57 billion, Reuters reported.
The buyout was higher than what its top investor, Australian phone company Telstra Corp Ltd., had valued Autohome at $3.35 billion earlier in an offer, in which it would sell through a deal its 47.7 percent stake to Chinese insurer Ping An Insurance Group Co.
In addition, the consortium presented a non-binding offer of $31.50 per Autohome American Depository share, a discount of 2 percent to the stock's closing price on Friday, which is more than the $29.55 that Ping An will pay Telstra for the Autohome share.
Following the consortium statement, Autohome shares dropped 1.4 percent at $31.70 in after-hours trading, but before the U.S. market opened, it closed up 6.6 percent at $32.14 in regular trade, driven up by Telstra's announcement.
In a statement, the consortium, which includes Autohome Chief Executive James Qin, private investment firms Boyu Capital and Sequoia China, as well as investment firm Hillhouse Capital, said that the deal will be financed by the consortium through equity from its members as well as bank financing.
Telstra said that after completing the deal with Ping An, it would retain a 6.5 percent stake in Autohome. The Australian telecom said that it expects to gain $1.38 billion on its investment in the website.
Autohome did not respond or issued any comment to Reuters, the report said.
Autohome was founded by Chinese entrepreneur Li Xiang in 2005 to provide information on pricing and car buying. In 2009, a year after Telstra, Australia's largest telecom, acquired a 71.5 percent stake in the business, James Qin was appointed CEO.
Controlled by Telstra since it debuted in the U.S. market in 2013, Autohome was valued at $3.2 billion. It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2013 in an initial public offering that diluted Telstra's stake and valued Autohome's equity at $1.63 billion.
Autohome's New York-listed American Depository Receipts closed Friday at $32.14, up $1.98, according to reports.