July 6 (Reuters) – Sina Corp, owner of the social media platform Weibo, said Monday that it had received a private offer of $ 41 per share in cash from a holding company led by its chief executive Charles Chao.
The transaction is valued at approximately $ 2.7 billion, according to Reuters calculations based on current outstanding shares, and represents a premium of nearly 12% from Friday’s closing share price.
New Wave, controlled by Chao, already has a 12.15% stake in Sina, according to data from Refinitiv-Eikon.
Interest in Chinese private private deals has increased due to tensions between China and the United States, and several companies are considering keeping a listing in New York or moving to Shanghai, Shenzhen or Hong Kong.
Sina said in a statement that its Board had formed a special committee made up of independent directors to evaluate the proposed deal. US-listed shares of the Chinese online media company rose approximately 9% in early operations.
Last month, online classifieds 58.com Inc and car comparison website Bitauto Holdings Ltd also agreed to be private. (Report by Ayanti Bera in Bangalore; Rashmi Aich edition)
