(Reuters) - Sina Corp (O:SINA), owner of social media platform Weibo (O:WB), will be taken private in a $2.6 billion deal with Chief Executive Officer Charles Chao, the Chinese internet company said on Monday.
The offer price of $43.3 per share is at an 18% premium to the stock's closing price on July 2, the last trading day before Sina received the preliminary offer of $41 per share.
U.S.-listed shares of Sina rose more than 6% in premarket trading.
Chao's holding company, New Wave, is the largest shareholder of Sina, with a 12.15% stake as of July 10, according to Refinitiv-Eikon data.
Many Chinese companies are opting out of U.S. stock exchanges, following rising tensions between the world's two largest economies, by considering go-private deals or returning to equity markets closer to home.
E-commerce firms Alibaba (N:BABA) and JD (NASDAQ:JD).com (HK:9618) have completed secondary listings in Hong Kong. Others including travel firm Ctrip (O:TCOM) and Baidu (O:BIDU) were considering Hong Kong listings, Reuters reported earlier this year.
Sina said Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Asia Ltd is acting as a financial adviser to the special committee it had formed to evaluate the proposal.
The deal is expected to close during the first quarter of 2021, Sina said.