Qihoo 360 returns to China’s A-share market via backdoor listing

Qihoo 360, China’ leading cybersecurity company providing anti-virus solutions, is poised to return to China’s A-share market through a backdoor listing, acquiring the domestically-listed elevator marketer SJEC with an RMB 50.4 billion ($7.6 billion) deal.

SJEC released a stock exchange statement today, pointing out that the company would acquire Qihoo 360 through an asset swap and share issue. After the deal, Zhou Hongyi, chairman and CEO of Qihoo 360 will hold 12.14% of the listed company’s shares. On top of that, through two other shareholders, QYMGC (奇信志成) and Tianjin Zhongxin (天津众信) that Zhou indirectly controls, he will in fact control—directly and indirectly—63.7% of the company’s shares in total, making him the controlling shareholder of the firm, as reported by local media citing the acquisition report.

In 2011, Qihoo 360 was listed in New York stock exchange with the market valuation at $3.95 billion. However, the company went private last year for about $9.3 billion in cash and delisted from US exchanges in the hope of returning to China’s mainland stock exchange.

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