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Xinhua Finance Media set for US
ADR offering
BY A CORRESPONDENT
February 27, 2007
Xinhua Finance Media Limited, a
provider of financial news and data on
China’s markets, is planning to raise
$371.5 million in a share offering in
the United States to repay debt and
finance acquisitions.
The company plans to sell 23.1 million
American depositary shares for $12 to
$14 each and has applied to list them
on the Nasdaq stock market under the
symbol XFML, the Shanghai-based Xinhua
Finance Media said.
Xinhua Finance, the parent company of
Xinhua Finance Media Limited, artly
owned by China’s state-run Xinhua News
Agency, has been expanding in the
United States.
The Tokyo-listed Xinhua Finance had
agreed in December 2006 to buy a San
Francisco- based investment research
company for $45 million. In July 2005,
Xinhua Finance had bought the economic
and political advisory firm,
Washington Analysis, for $224.2
million.
Xinhua Finance Media made a net income
of $3.34 million in 2006 on revenues
of $59 million. After paying dividends
to preferred shareholders, the company
had a loss of 8 cents a share.
The company is selling 17.3 million
shares, while insiders filed to sell
5.77 million. Each depositary share
represents two common shares.
After the sale, the company will be
37% owned by Xinhua Finance, 8% by the
New York-based Patriarch Partners
Media Holdings, and 5.8 by Fredy Bush,
Xinhua Finance Media’s chairman and
chief executive officer.
Proceeds will be used to pay $50
million to the parent company for
buying Xinhua Finance Advertising,
control of Beijing Century Media
Culture and for future acquisitions.
Xinhua Finance Media Limited is a
leading diversified media company in
China. It assembled and built a group
of media assets and strategic
partnerships to achieve what the
company calls “the best in class”
media and advertising services across
various sectors of the media business
in China.
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