In a deal nearly six months in the making, Chinese economy hotel chain 7 Days Group (NYSE: SVN) announced Wednesday that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell itself (i.e. "go private") to a group of companies led by Keystone Lodging Company Limited.
Keystone will be paying $4.60 per share for 7 Days. American Depositary Shares -- through which 7 Days common stock trades on the NYSE in units of three common shares-per-one-ADS -- will be purchased for $13.80 per ADS. The total value of all ADS common shares outstanding, therefore, works out to approximately US$688 million, fully diluted.
According to a press release on the going-private transaction, however, the ultimate "beneficial ownership" of 7 Days post-purchase will reside in a consortium composed of private equity powerhouse Carlyle Group's (CG) Carlyle Asia Partners III fund, the Sequoia Capital China Growth 2010 Fund, current shareholder Actis LLP, and "other existing shareholders of the Company (and/or entities affiliated with or related to them) who have elected to roll-over their interest in the Company in connection with the Merger."
The transaction is expected to close sometime in the second half of 2013.
