Bitauto (NYSE: BITA), the Chinese Internet car service provider founded by Nio (NYSE: NIO) founder William Li Bin, has completed a merger and delisted from the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.
In June 2020, Bitauto announced that it formally entered into a legally binding merger agreement with a group of buyers consisting of Tencent Holdings and Hammer Capital.
The buyer group purchased Bitauto shares at a cash price of $16 per ADS, for a total transaction value of $1.1 billion. The transaction used the Buyer Group's own capital and equity and did not involve debt financing.
On October 23, 2020, Bitauto shareholders approved the privatization agreement with approximately 99.9% of the votes cast in favor of the transaction.
Founded in 2000, Bitauto is one of the first batch of automotive internet companies in China, with Nio CEO Li as the founder.
In 2010, Bitauto landed on the New York Stock Exchange and was the first overseas-listed automotive internet company in China.
In 2015, Tencent became a strategic shareholder of Bitauto, and the two companies have been working closely together since then. In January 2018, Li resigned as CEO of Bitauto to focus on the development of Nio.
Prior to the announcement of Bitauto's privatization, William Li Bin held a 10.9% stake in the company, while JD.com was the largest shareholder with a 24.4% stake.
Four months ago, Bitauto celebrated its 20th anniversary, and the Bitauto executive team held a celebration with Bitauto's investors and employees. Bitauto was still strongly influenced by William Li Bin, who gave a speech at the event.
William Li Bin also said in WeChat friend circle, "Bitauto is 20 years old! Bitauto is fortunate to be a witness, participant, contributor and beneficiary of the take-off of China's two major automotive and internet industries."
