Hollysys management offers $25 per share take-private deal

Hollysys Automation Technologies announced that its special committee of independent directors has received a non-binding proposal from representatives of the management team, Lei Fang and Yue Xu, the company’s co-Chief Operating Officers, to acquire all of the outstanding ordinary shares of the company they do not already own for a cash consideration of $25 per share as part of a taking-private transaction. The proposal does not constitute a binding commitment with respect to the proposed transaction at this current stage, the company said in a statement. As previously announced, on October 2, Hollysys formed a special committee of the company’s independent directors to conduct a formal structured sale process. In addition to reviewing the management buyout offer, the special committee and its advisors are conducting “an expedited process to solicit and review serious and compelling offers with the aim of providing bidders with the opportunity to participate on a level playing field.” No decision has been made at this point with respect to the management buyout offer or other offers. The special committee “will continue its engagement with other prospective bidder groups with a focus on obtaining the best outcome for shareholders based on value and certainty. It anticipates that it will take several more weeks to establish a short-list of prospective bidders.”