BENGALURU: Sina Corp, the owner of social media platform Weibo, said today it had received a go-private offer of US$41 (RM175.5) per share in cash from a holding company led by its CEO Charles Chao.
The transaction stands at a value of about US$2.7 billion, according to Reuters calculations based on the current outstanding shares and represents a premium of nearly 12% as of Thursday's stock closing price.
New Wave, which is controlled by Chao, already owns 12.15% stake in Sina, according to Refinitiv-Eikon data.
The interest in Chinese take-private deals has been rising following tensions between China and the United States, with several companies considering whether to keep a New York listing or move instead to Shanghai, Shenzhen or Hong Kong.
Sina said in a statement that its board had formed a special committee consisting of independent directors to evaluate the proposed deal. US-listed shares of the Chinese online media company were up about 9% in early trading.
Last month, online classifieds 58.com Inc and car comparison website Bitauto Holdings Ltd also agreed to be taken private. – Reutefrs
