According to reports, on July 15, 2016, Eastern Time, Qihoo 360 Technology Co., Ltd. announced the completion of its privatization transaction. The company also announced that its American depositary receipts traded on the New York Stock Exchange will be no later than 4 pm Eastern Time on July 15, 2016. In addition, Qihoo 360 will delist from the New York Stock Exchange on July 18 (before the opening bell), and its shares will no longer be publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
According to publicly available information, on December 18, 2015, 360 announced that it had reached a privatization agreement, and the value of the all-cash privatization transaction was approximately US$9.3 billion. On March 30, 2016, the privatization agreement was approved by shareholders. The specific delisting transaction is based on the relevant transaction terms approved by the special board of directors on March 30, 2016. Except for the founder's overturning of stocks and dissenting shareholder stocks, all the issued ordinary shares of Qihoo 360 will be issued at 51.33 per common share. The price of the U.S. dollar (equivalent to US$77 per U.S. ADS) was bought and cancelled by cash.
It is reported that members of the stock buyer group include CITIC Guoan, BRICS Road Capital, Sequoia Capital China, Taikang Life Insurance, Ping An Insurance, Sunshine Insurance, New China Capital, Huatai Ruilian and Huasheng Capital, and their affiliates. The buyer’s delegation stated that they are continuing to actively promote the fulfillment of the terms of the M&A agreement, and it is expected that the transaction will be completed by mid-August 2016.
On April 19, the Qihu 360 privatization project was approved by the National Development and Reform Commission, and the project legal entity was Tianjin Qixin Tongda Technology Co., Ltd. On April 26, 2016, the National Development and Reform Commission’s on-line examination and approval monitoring platform for investment projects revealed that the Qihoo 360 privatization project has been approved by the National Development and Reform Commission and entered the publicity stage. Investment project online approval supervision platform announcement.
According to the 360 ​​privatization data previously exposed, 360 may choose to be listed on A-share backdoors after privatization. The selection of privatization in China's stocks is nothing more than the serious underestimation of the US stock market, or the company's strategic adjustments. China's stock market is more conducive to financing. According to statistics, the offer price for China's stocks generally returns 20%~30% on the basis of current market price. Prior to this, when Zhou Hongyi announced the privatization, he stated that 360 was listed in the United States, and the market value of $8 billion could not fully reflect 360's company value. However, investors in the investment circle believe that 360 A shares can easily obtain market value of hundreds of billions or more.
Some commentators said that the 360 ​​announcement of the completion of privatization means that the domestic capital operation is about to begin.