Shenzhen Fortune invests $48m in Focus Media
Fortune Capital has invested RMB300 million ($48 million) in Focus Media, a PE-backed Chinese outdoor advertising firm on course for a $7.37 billion backdoor listing in Shenzhen.
Bing Qiao, managing partner and president in Fortune, announced the investment in a corporate event last Thursday, Tencent's QQ Tech reported.
Focus Media, which was taken private and removed from NASDAQ two years ago by a consortium of PE investors and company management, has reached an agreement with a public shell company to re-list in Shenzhen through a reverse merger.
Jiangsu Hongda New Material, a Shenzhen-listed silicone rubber manufacturer, will buy 100% of Focus Media via an asset swap, a share issue and cash. It will finance the deal through a RMB5 billion private placement to no more than 10 qualified investors.
Last month, a group of Focus Media's offshore shareholders, including The Carlyle Group, FountainVest Partners, Fosun International, CITIC Capital Partners, China Everbright and Primavera Capital, sold part of their stake to 36 domestic institutional investors in a transaction that valued Focus Media at about RMB45 billion.
At present, CITIC holds a 8.77% stake in the business, while Carlyle and FountainVest have 7.54% each. Fosun and China Everbright own 7.77% and 1.29%, respectively. Primavera has a 0.65% interest. Jason Jiang, Focus Media's CEO, will be the controlling shareholder once the company re-lists.
Established in 2000, Shenzhen-based Fortune Capital manages RMB15 billion and has invested in more than 260 enterprises, of which 39 companies have been successfully listed. It has also exited 28 investments through M&A or buy-backs. The firm has 18 portfolio companies listed on the National Equities Exchange and Quotation (NEEQ), which is also known as the New Third Board.
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