ShangPharma Surges 20% on "Going Private" Proposal

Shares of ShangPharma

are seeing increased strength during Friday's trading session after the company received a proposal letter from ShangPharma's CEO stating he would acquire all of the outstanding shares of the company. ShangPharma announced that its Board of Directors has received a non-binding proposal letter dated July 6, 2012 from its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Michael Xin Hui, and entities affiliated with him, and TPG Star Charisma Limited and its affiliates to acquire all of the outstanding shares of ShangPharma not currently owned by Founder or TPG in a going private transaction for between $8.50 and $9.50 per American Depositary Share in cash, subject to certain conditions. Founder and TPG currently own approximately 54% and 11% of ShangPharma's ordinary shares, respectively. According to the proposal letter, the acquisition is intended to be financed through a combination of debt and equity capital, with definitive commitments for the required debt and equity funding expected to be in place, subject to the terms and conditions set forth therein, when the definitive agreements with respect to the acquisition and related transactions are signed. Currently, shares of ShangPharma are trading up about 19 percent at $8.18 per share.