Qingdao, China, February 20, 2024 - Cartech Holding Company, a subsidiary of Haier Group (Haier Group), has reached an agreement with Yun Chen Capital Cayman, a subsidiary of China Life Insurance Company Limited (China Life), to acquire the issued ordinary of Autohome Inc. (NYSE: ATHM; HKEX: 2518) held by Yun Chen Capital at a total price of approximately US$.8 billion. Upon completion of the transaction, Cartech Holding will hold approximately 41.91% of the issued ordinary shares of Autohome (based the number of issued ordinary shares of Autohome as of December 31, 2024), becoming the controlling shareholder of Autohome. China Life Property Company Limited (China Life P&C) will continue to indirectly hold the remaining shares of Autohome through Yun Chen Capital as one of the major shareholders of Autohome
Over the past 40 years, Haier has always been committed to driving industrial innovation through technological innovation, focusing on the real economy, strategically laying out smart home living ecology, big health industry ecology, and digital economy industry ecology. In the field of digital economy industry ecology, Haier has created the ecological brand Katerchi. Katerchi accelerates the restructuring of the automobile service industry chain through the O2O online and offline car ecological model, providing full and full-life cycle scene solutions including personalized customization of automobiles, automobile transactions, and smart electricity use, and continuously explores the construction of a home-car interconnection ecology. transaction will accelerate Katerchi's construction of a new automobile industry ecology and improve Haier's digital economy industry ecology layout.
Autohome is China's leading online service platform for car consumers, with "data technology" as its core support. With its extensive user, deep industry insights and professional content, as well as strong network effects, it continues to consolidate its competitive advantages in the vertical media field, and has made forward-looking in innovative businesses such as data products, new and used car transactions, and offline energy space stations, building an integrated service ecology combining online and offline services. It provides with a full-link digital experience of looking, buying, using and replacing, and serves the upstream and downstream ecological partners of the automobile industry.
Upon completion of the transaction, Autohome will continue to consolidate and develop its existing business as a key hub in Haier's automotive industry ecosystem with the joint support of Haier and Ping An. Haier will leverage its leading advantages in technology innovation, user insights, consumer service system, and the "human integration" management model, integrate the online and offline integrated operation of Katerchi, especially the advanced store management experience, to fully empower Autohome, and develop in in the fields of deep user experience, intelligent hardware connection, and new retail of automobiles, continuously strengthening Autohome's O2O intelligent interaction and comprehensive operation service. Ping An Property & Casualty will also continue to deepen cooperation with Autohome in various aspects such as after-sales service and offline marketing, and support the future development Autohome.