Wheeler dealers

15 June 2020 By Alec Macfarlane

A consortium led by the tech giant has agreed to buy New York-listed Bitauto for $1.1 bln, the same price proposed months ago. Globally, buyers have tried to cut lower prices on pre-pandemic deals. But the outlook for China’s auto market is rosier: Tencent is getting a bargain.

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New York-listed Chinese car comparison website Bitauto said on June 12 that it had agreed to be acquired by a consortium of investors led by Tencent and private equity firm Hammer Capital.

The consortium will pay $16 a share for the company, in an all-cash deal that values its equity at roughly $1.1 billion, Bitauto said in a statement.

The offer represents a premium of 16.4% to the closing price of Bitauto’s shares on Sept. 12, the last trading day prior to the company's announcement of its receipt of a take-private proposal.

Bitauto’s shares closed at $15.70 on June 12, 9.6% higher than on the previous trading day.

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