BEIJING, Sept. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- SouFun Holdings
Limited (NYSE: SFUN) ("SouFun"), the leading real estate Internet
portal in China, announced today
it entered into (i) a subscription agreement ( "IDG Subscription
Agreement") with IDG Alternative Global Limited, which is an
affiliate of IDG Capital Partners ("IDG") as of the date of IDG
Subscription Agreement and (ii) a subscription agreement ("Carlyle
Subscription Agreement", together with IDG Subscription Agreement,
"Subscription Agreements") with Safari Group Holdings Limited and
Safari Group CB Holdings Limited, which are beneficially owned by
Carlyle Group ("Carlyle") as of the date of Carlyle Subscription
Agreement. IDG, Carlyle and the management (mainly founder and CEO
Vincent Mo) will invest a total
amount between $400 million and $700
million (of which 50% will be convertible notes) to purchase
SouFun's newly issued Class A ordinary shares and convertible
notes ("Notes") pursuant to the Subscription Agreements.
Under the Subscription Agreements, the subscription price of the
new Class A ordinary shares is US$5.85 per current ADS (i.e. US$29.25 per Class A ordinary share), which is
higher than the closing price of SouFun's ADS as of September 16, 2015 and represents a 3.5% premium
to the volume-weighted average trading price of the ADS for the 20
trading days preceding September 16,
2015. Holders of the convertible notes will have the right
to convert the Notes into Class A ordinary shares at the price per
share equal to 122.5% of the per share purchase price of the new
Class A ordinary shares in 7 years after the issuance of the Notes.
The Notes shall bear an annual interest of 1.5%.
"IDG and Carlyle's financial commitment to Fang.com shows their
confidence in Fang.com's management," said Vincent
Mo, Chairman and CEO of Fang.com. "With the new investment,
the company will be in a better position to strengthen its
transformation. The company will expand aggressively to more cities
and rapidly increase its market share in existing cities with its
new transaction and financial service business lines."
About SouFun
SouFun operates the leading real estate Internet portal in
China in terms of the number of
page views and visitors to its websites and mobile apps in 2014.
Through its websites and mobile apps, SouFun provides marketing,
e-commerce, listing, finance and other value-added services for
China's real estate and
home-related sectors. SouFun's Internet portal and mobile apps are
highly focused on user experience, and support SouFun's users in
seeking information on the real estate and home-related sectors in
China. SouFun currently maintains
about 100 offices to focus on local market needs and its websites,
mobile apps and database contain real estate related content
covering more than 370 cities in China. For more information about SouFun,
please visit http://ir.fang.com.
Safe Harbor Statements
The Company cautions its shareholders and others considering
trading its securities that there can be no assurance that the
transactions contemplated under the Subscription Agreements will be
consummated. This press release contains forward-looking statements
within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended. Such forward-looking statements are made under the "safe
harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995.
These forward-looking statements can be identified by
terminology such as "will," "expects," "is expected to,"
"anticipates," "aim," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes,"
"are likely to," "estimates," "may," "should" and similar
expressions. Such forward-looking statements include, without
limitation, statements regarding the revenue outlook for 2015, the
success of various business strategies in the short and long-term,
conditions in the PRC real estate market and the success of
SouFun's strategic and operational plans and focus, the impact of
government policies and China's
real estate and home furnishings market. Statements that are not
historical facts, including statements about SouFun's beliefs and
expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of
important factors could cause actual results to differ materially
from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Potential
risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the impact
of the slowdown in the PRC real estate market on SouFun and the
impact on revenues of our existing and new service fees reductions,
the ability of SouFun to retain real estate listing agencies as
customers during challenging economic periods, the success of
SouFun's new business initiatives, the ability of SouFun to manage
its operating expenses, the impact of, measures taken or to be
taken by the Chinese government to control real estate growth and
prices and other events which could occur in the future, economic
challenges in China's real estate
market, the impact of competitive market conditions for our
services, our ability to maintain and increase our leadership in
China's home related internet
sector, the uncertain regulatory landscape in China, fluctuations in our quarterly operating
results, our continued ability to execute business strategies
including our SouFun membership services and SouFun Online Shop,
our ability to continue to expand in local markets, our reliance on
online advertising sales and listing services for our revenues, any
failure to successfully develop and expand our content, service
offerings and features, including the success of new features to
meet evolving market needs, and the technologies that support them,
the quality of the loans we originate and resell and the
performance of those loans in the future, our ability to
successfully service and process customer loans for our own benefit
and for the purchasers of those loans and, should we in the future
make acquisitions, any failure to successfully integrate acquired
businesses.
Further information regarding these and other risks and
uncertainties is included in our annual report on Form 20-F and
other documents we have filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission. SouFun does not assume any obligation to update any
forward-looking statements in this release and elsewhere, which
apply only as of the date of this press release.
For investor and media inquiries, please contact:
Dr. Hua Lei
Deputy CFO
Phone: +86-10-5631-8661
Email: leihua@soufun.com
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/soufun-announces-investment-from-idg-carlyle-and-management-members-300145498.html
SOURCE SouFun Holdings Limited