Published on ShanghaiDaily.com (http://www.shanghaidaily.com/)
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2008/200812/20081223/article_385543.htm
The Sina Corp logo at the company headquarters in Shanghai.
Sina and Focus seal US$1.3b ad deal
Created: 2008-12-23 1:16:42
Author:James Callan
SINA Corp, the operator of China's biggest Web portal, agreed to buy Focus Media Holding Ltd's digital out-of-home advertising networks for about US$1.3 billion in stock to expand beyond the Internet.
The purchase gives Shanghai-based Sina ad revenue from at least 120,000 flat-panel television screens in office buildings and public spaces in more than 90 cities. Sina derived 73 percent of its sales from online ads last quarter.
Focus Media, also based in Shanghai, will keep its Internet ad unit, its movie theater ad network and some billboards. The all-stock acquisition has been approved by the boards of both companies and should be completed in the first half of next year, they said in a statement yesterday.
China's largest publicly traded advertising company, Focus Media, has acquired firms, including CGEN Digital Media and Dotad Media Holdings Ltd, to expand into other venues such as supermarkets. Sina will issue 47 million new ordinary shares, which Focus Media will distribute to stockholders once the deal has closed.
Focus Media American depositary receipts fell 85 cents to US$10.13 at 10:59am on Nasdaq in New York yesterday. Each ADR represents one ordinary share.
Sina fell US$3.96, or 13.5 percent, to US$25.28 at 10:59 am on Nasdaq.
The purchase gives Shanghai-based Sina ad revenue from at least 120,000 flat-panel television screens in office buildings and public spaces in more than 90 cities. Sina derived 73 percent of its sales from online ads last quarter.
Focus Media, also based in Shanghai, will keep its Internet ad unit, its movie theater ad network and some billboards. The all-stock acquisition has been approved by the boards of both companies and should be completed in the first half of next year, they said in a statement yesterday.
China's largest publicly traded advertising company, Focus Media, has acquired firms, including CGEN Digital Media and Dotad Media Holdings Ltd, to expand into other venues such as supermarkets. Sina will issue 47 million new ordinary shares, which Focus Media will distribute to stockholders once the deal has closed.
Focus Media American depositary receipts fell 85 cents to US$10.13 at 10:59am on Nasdaq in New York yesterday. Each ADR represents one ordinary share.
Sina fell US$3.96, or 13.5 percent, to US$25.28 at 10:59 am on Nasdaq.
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