Bitauto, JD.com & Tencent Announce Strategic Partnership - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Bitauto Holdings Ltd. (BITA), a provider of Internet content and marketing services for China's fast-growing automotive industry, Chinese online retailer JD.com, Inc. (JD) and Tencent Holdings Ltd. (TCEHY.PK), a provider of comprehensive Internet services in China, jointly announced signing definitive agreements, under which JD.com and Tencent would invest in Bitauto totaling around $1.3 billion in cash and resources, and investments of $250 million cash in YiXin Capital Ltd., an unit of Bitauto engaged mainly in e-commerce-related automotive financing platform business. Following the completion, the three companies would together work to provide improved online automotive transaction services to car buyers across China.

As part of the agreements, JD.com would invest a combination of $400 million in cash and about $750 million of resources, including exclusive access to the new and used car channels on JD.com's e-commerce sites including mobile apps and additional support from its key platforms, as consideration for a total of some $1.15 billion of newly issued ordinary shares from Bitauto.

Also, Tencent would buy $150 million of newly issued ordinary shares from Bitauto. Bitauto's newly issued ordinary shares would be priced at $73.31 a share, corresponding to $73.31 per American Depositary Share of Bitauto, each representing one ordinary share. The purchase price represents the average closing trading price of Bitauto's ADSs for the 20 trading days prior to the signing of the deals. Further, JD.com and Tencent would invest $100 million and $150 million, respectively, in newly issued series A preferred shares of YiXin Capital.

The transactions are likely to close in the first half of 2015, after which JD.com and Tencent would own 25% and 3.3% of the company's outstanding shares on a fully diluted basis, respectively, and JD.com would have one seat on Bitauto's board. JD.com and Tencent would hold 17.7% and 26.6% of YiXin Capital, respectively, upon completion.