Digital automotive marketplace AutoTrader Group makes strategic investment of $58.5m in return for a 21.8% stake in China-based auto internet company Bitauto.com.
US-based AutoTrader Group, the largest operator of auto websites in the US, has invested $58.5m for 9m ordinary shares, a 21.8% stake, in Bitauto.com, a multi-platform auto-related Internet media company. The strategic investment was conducted on the non-open market.
The senior management of Bitauto.com has also purchased 2.4% shares of Bitauto.com from pre-IPO shareholders for $6.5m. The deal has been funded through a four-year loan supplied by AutoTrader. The transaction is set to close at the end of November, customary to…
