Family Buyout Sees China's Shanda Interactive Going Private

Chinese MMO operator Shanda Interactive will soon be a private, family-owned operation. All shares in the currently-public company will be jointly purchased by a parent company headed by Shanda CEO and board chair Tianqiao Chen, his wife (and company director) Qian Qian Chrissy Luo, and his brother Danian Chen, Shanda's COO. The group previously held a majority of the company, owning a combined 69.7 percent of its outstanding shares. The upcoming transaction will see them purchasing shares at $41.35 each, a 24 percent premium over the closing price of the shares when the takeover was first proposed on October 17. Stock in the company traded at an extremely high volume Tuesday, with shares up $0.89 to $40.28 at market close, which is inching its way toward the buyout's $41.35 premium. The purchase will be funded through a $180 million dollar loan from JPMorgan, according to Shanda representatives. The transaction has been fully approved by Shanda's board of directors, and is expected to close before the end of the first quarter of 2012. The news closely follows the announcement of a record $219.9 million quarter. Among others titles both licensed and original to the region, Shanda currently operates the Chinese versions of AION, MapleStory, Ragnarok Online, and Dungeons & Dragons Online.