AsisInfo (Nasdaq: ASIA) Surges Most Since August on Buyout Proposal From Government Fund

Palm Beach, FL 1/20/12 (StreetBeat) -- AsiaInfo-Linkage Inc. (Nasdaq: ASIA), a Chinese telecommunications software provider, surged the most in five months in the U.S. after receiving a buyout proposal from a state-owned private-equity fund at a premium to its stock price.

The Beijing-based company’s shares jumped as much as 26 percent to $12.49, the biggest intraday gain since Aug. 11. The stock was up 25 percent to $12.35 by 10:01 a.m. in New York.

AsiaInfo got a “non-binding” proposal from Power Joy (Cayman) Ltd., a unit of CITIC Capital China Partners II LP, to acquire all outstanding shares of the company in cash, according to a PRNewswire statement issued by AsiaInfo today.

The offer “represents a premium over the current stock price,” the statement said. AsiaInfo set up a special committee to consider the offer, and no decision has been made, the company said.

CITIC Capital is a private-equity fund owned by China’s biggest state-owned investment company and the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, according to its website.

Investors’ short-sale interest in AsiaInfo declined to 9.8 percent of its total outstanding shares as of yesterday, the lowest level since May 9, according to Data Explorers, a New York-based research firm. In a short sale, an investor borrows a security and sells it, expecting to profit from a decline by repurchasing it later at a lower price.

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