An investor consortium is pushing again to acquire Hollysys Automation Technologies Ltd. in a deal that values the Beijing-based industrial company at about $1.6 billion, according to a letter reviewed by Bloomberg News.
(Bloomberg) — An investor consortium is pushing again to acquire Hollysys Automation Technologies Ltd. in a deal that values the Beijing-based industrial company at about $1.6 billion, according to a letter reviewed by Bloomberg News.
The bid group led by privately-held Recco Control Technology Pet. and Hong Kong-based Dazheng Group Investment Holdings Company Ltd. has reaffirmed a bid of $25 per share for Hollysys that it first made in 2021.
“We believe this all-cash offer presents the company’s shareholders the best opportunity to maximize the full value of their shares immediately, with certainty,” the consortium wrote in a letter to the target on Thursday.
Recco Control Technology is a Singapore-incorporated investor in the automation industry founded by Ke Lei, a veteran executive in the industry in China. Hong Kong-based TFI Asset Management and private equity firm Great Wall Capital Co. are also part of the consortium.
The offer represents a 34% premium Hollysys’s closing price on Wednesday. The company’s stock was down 2.8% to $18.14 at 2:18 p.m. Thursday in New York trading, giving it a market value of about $1.1 billion. A representative for Hollysys couldn’t be reached for comment outside regular business hours in Beijing.
Founded in 1993, Hollysys provides integrated solutions for industrial automation and rail transport, according to its website. It’s worked on tens of thousands of projects in sectors including power and petrochemicals, as well as both high-speed and urban rail.
The Recco Control Technology consortium also previously reaffirmed its $25 offer for the company in 2022. That year, Bloomberg News reported that the state-owned operator of Beijing’s railway and subway was considering a bid for Hollysys.
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