JapanÆs largest online retailer, Rakuten, sold its 20.3% stake in Ctrip.com International, China's leading online travel agent, at a 2.56% discount to the stock's last traded price. Rakuten netted $505 million for the shares it has held since 2004.
Investors had Ctrip's traded price on the Nasdaq as ready reference so the seller conducted a three-day marketing exercise without an indicative price range. Investors placed orders either with or without price sensitivity.
Ctrip closed trading on August 9 at $39 and the book was fully covered, with price sensitivity, in the $38-$40 range. The company thus comfortably priced the deal at $38, according to a...
¬ Haymarket Media Limited. All rights reserved.
