AsiaInfo and Linkage Technologies announce $733-million merger deal

AsiaInfo Holdings, Inc and privately held Linkage Technologies International Holdings (Linkage), both providers of telecom software solutions have today jointly announced that they have signed a definitive agreement to merge, forming AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc. (AsiaInfo-Linkage) thus creating a leading player in China's telecommunications software market.

Under the terms of the $733 million agreement, Nanjing-based Linkage shareholders will receive $60 million in cash and approximately 26.8 million AsiaInfo shares upon closing of the transaction.

Based on the closing price of AsiaInfo's stock on 4 December, 2009, the combined company would have a market value of over $1.8 billion. Post-transaction, Linkage's legacy shareholders will own approximately 35.8 per cent of AsiaInfo-Linkage with AsiaInfo's legacy shareholders owning approximately 64.2 per cent.

AsiaInfo Holdings is a leading provider of high-quality software and customer solutions to many of China's largest enterprises and to China's telecom carriers.

Founded in Dallas, Texas in 1993, the company moved its major operations to China in 1995 and designed and implemented most of the nation's major commercial Internet backbone projects.

Its largest customers are China's major telecom carriers, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom and since 1998, AsiaInfo has continued to diversify its product offerings and is now a major provider of enterprise software solutions in China.