China Asset Management backs $332m iSoftStone take-private
Chinese IT services provider iSoftStone Holdings has received a take-private proposal from its CEO and chairman, who is working in conjunction with ChinaAMC Capital Management, an alternative investment platform affiliated to fund management company China Asset Management.
According to a regulatory filing, the buyer group is willing to pay $5.85 per share for all outstanding American Depository Receipts (ADS). This represents a 20.9% premium to iSoftStone's June 5 closing price on the New York Stock Exchange and values the entire company at $332 million.
The transaction will be financed through a combination of debt and equity capital. Tianwen Liu, the CEO and chairman, is expected to roll over his equity into the acquisition vehicle. As of March, he held approximately 11.7% of the company.
iSoftStone's largest shareholders are Fidelity Asia and AsiaVest Partners, with 14.4% and 13.4%, respectively. AsiaVest provided the company's $14 million Series A round in 2005 alongside Infotech Pacific Ventures. Both firms also participated in the $45 million Series B two years later, which saw the arrival of Fidelity and Japan's MVC Corporation.
China Everbright led the existing investors in a third round, worth $65 million, in January 2010. iSoftStone went public in December of that year, raising $141 million.
The company was founded in 2001 and provides IT services and solutions and business process outsourcing services to companies in China, North America, Europe and Japan, including 89 members of the Fortune 500. iSoftStone posted a net income of $22.1 million in 2012, up from $19 million the previous year, as revenues grew 34% to $381.1 million. It posted a loss for 2010.
AVCJ has records of 12 other private equity-backed take-privates of US-listed Chinese companies currently in process. Five of these have received board approval since the start of the year. A further eight transactions have concluded successfully in the last two years, most recently a $370 million buyout of biotechnology firm 3SBio, supported by CITIC Private Equity.
More on Buyouts
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.