Chinese news and social media company Sina, one of the country’s internet pioneers, has received a $2.7 billion management buyout offer which would spell the end of its 20-year-long listing on Nasdaq, reported the Financial Times.
The $41-per-share offer represents a 20% premium to the average closing price over the last 30 days and a 12% premium to its closing price on Thursday. Shares in Sina rose 9.5% after the news.
The proposal would entail Charles Chao, Sina’s chairman and chief executive, taking the company private, including its 45% stake in Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, which is also listed on Nasdaq. The stake includes 71% of Weibo’s voting shares and control over its board.
Weibo has been Sina’s main growth engine in recent years after its news business was passed by rivals including Tencent News and ByteDance’s Jinri Toutiao. Sina also has a small, but fast-growing, online loans and payments business.