The rumor fell! Haier Kataichi controls US$1.8 billion in Auto Home, accelerating the ecological layout of the automobile industry

Photo source: Visual China

Blue Whale News, February 19 (Reporter Wang Jianwen)The rumor that Haier Group acquired Auto Home finally came to fruition.

On the evening of February 20, Autohome-S (2518.HK, hereinafter referred to as Autohome-S) announced that the company’s major shareholder, Yun Chen Capital Cayman (hereinafter referred to as Yunchen Capital), a subsidiary of Ping An of China, signed an agreement with CARTECH HOLDING COMPANY (hereinafter referred to as Kataichi Holdings), a subsidiary of Haier Group. Yunchen Capital will sell 41.91% of the company’s shares to Kataichi Holdings at a consideration of approximately US$1.8 billion. After the transaction is completed, Kataichi Holdings will become the new controlling shareholder of the company.

On the same day, the management of Auto Home also ushered in changes. Wu Tao, executive director and CEO of Ping An of China, announced his resignation. Yang Song, senior vice president of Auto Home, took over as executive director and CEO.

On February 20, AutoHome’s Hong Kong stock price closed at HK$60/share, an increase of 0.083%, and the total market value was approximately HK$30.6 billion.

With the acquisition of Auto Home at a premium, Haier’s capital landscape continues to expand

Car Home is one of the three major automobile media in China. Auto Home was established in 2005 by Li Xiang, founder of Ideal Automobile. It will be listed on NASDAQ in 2013 and on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2021.

In the nearly 20 years since its establishment, Car Home has changed owners many times. In 2008, Autohome had a tight capital chain due to the impact of the financial crisis. To this end, the company introduced investor Telstra. At the time of its IPO in the United States, Telstra already held 75.1% of the company’s shares, while Li Xiang’s shareholding was only 5.3%.

In 2016, Telstra began to seek to transfer control of Autohome, and both the company’s management and Ping An of China were interested in acquiring it. In the end, Ping An of China won the equity battle and gained control of the company. As of the end of 2023, Ping An of China holds 44.13% of the company’s equity through its Yunchen Capital.

Eight years after entering the Auto Home, Ping An of China began planning to withdraw, and Haier Group will take over control of the company. According to the announcement of Auto Home, Kataichi Holdings plans to invest approximately US$1.8 billion to acquire 201 million shares of the company, accounting for approximately 41.91% of the total share capital. After the sale is completed, Yunchen Capital will still hold 24 million shares of the company.

This time, the price of Haier Group’s equity in Auto Home is at a premium to the market price. At the close of February 20, Auto Home’s Hong Kong stocks closed at HK$60/share. Based on this calculation, the consideration for the company’s 41.91% equity interest was approximately HK$12.053 billion, or approximately US$1.550 billion. The consideration of US$1.8 billion is at a premium of approximately 16% to the market price.

If this acquisition is successfully completed, Auto Home may become the eighth listed company under Haier.

In recent years, Haier has frequently expanded its capital territory through acquisitions and spin-offs. At present, the company has 6 listed companies, including Haier Zhijia, Yingkang Life, Haier Biotech, Raytheon Technology, Shanghai Laishi, and Zhongmiao Holdings. In addition, on February 16, Haier Kaos Industrial Intelligence, a subsidiary of Haier Group, also signed an equity transfer agreement with Xinshida (002527.SZ), which will gain control of the listed company.

However, Haier’s capital operations have not all been smooth sailing. At the end of 2024, Haier planned to promote Haier Biotech to merge with Shanghai Laisi, but it was terminated in January this year. In addition, in October 2024, Haier’s supply chain services company Rishun failed its IPO, and in December of that year, it announced the merger of Haier Zhijia.

Haier’s car ambitions

For Haier Group, the acquisition of Auto Home will help the company further expand its automotive business landscape.

Haier Group has been deploying automotive-related businesses for 10 years. As early as 2015, Haier’s open platform HOPE cooperated with auto parts technology company Faurecia. In 2017, Haier’s industrial Internet brand Kaos was established. The brand serves the automotive industry and can provide new energy battery management solutions, new energy module PACK line solutions, etc.

In 2022, Haier Group established Kataichi, an Internet platform for the automobile industry. According to the company’s official website, it currently mainly provides three major businesses: customized vehicles, used car trading and charging piles. This time, Haier Group gained control of the Auto Home through Katac.

According to an article on Haier Group’s official Weixin Official Accounts, the addition of Car Home will help Kataichi build a new ecosystem in the automobile industry and improve the ecological layout of Haier’s digital economic industry. Haier Group will also promote the coordinated development of both parties in areas such as in-depth user experience, intelligent hardware connectivity, and new automobile retail.

In recent years, Haier Group has continued to expand its used car business through Katac. Offline, Kataichi frequently acquires used car dealers to expand its store territory. Kataichi’s official website shows that the company currently has a total of 28 offline stores, distributed in Beijing, Tianjin, Chongqing, Chengdu and other places. Online, the company also established an online self-operated mall for used cars in July 2024.

Car Home also has a layout in the used car business. In addition to media business, AutoHome currently also carries out clues services and online marketing services, which can provide online trading platforms and provide transaction clues for buyers and sellers of new and used cars. In addition, Car Home is also deploying offline experience stores, Car Home Space Station, and integrating used car business in the stores.

For Kataichi, the acquisition of Auto Home will not only help it expand the scale of offline stores, but also help expand the online visibility of the company’s brand.

However, although Auto Home has a reputation, due to factors such as intensified external competitive pressure, the company’s overall performance has shown a downward trend in recent years. From 2021 to 2023, the company’s operating income was 7.237 billion yuan, 6.941 billion yuan, and 7.184 billion yuan respectively; net profit attributable to the parent company was 2.149 billion yuan, 1.807 billion yuan, and 1.880 billion yuan respectively.

In 2024, the performance of Auto Home will decline again. According to the company’s financial report released on February 20, in 2024, the company achieved operating income of 7.040 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 2.01%; net profit attributable to the parent company was 1.620 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 13.86%.