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By John Biju
(Reuters) - Hong Kong-listed Autohome said on Thursday the financial conglomerate Ping An Insurance will cease to be its controlling shareholder after agreeing to sell a 41.91% stake in the company for $1.8 billion.
Yun Chen Capital Cayman, a unit of Ping An, will sell 200.9 million shares of the auto services portal provider to a unit of Haier Group Corp, the owner of home appliance maker Haier Smart Home.
It also said company insider Song Yang has been appointed as the new chief executive officer following the resignation of Tao Wu.
"The platform faces growing competition with not only direct competitors but also automakers that are increasingly reliant on self-distribution", Jefferies analysts said in a note.
Jefferies highlighted Autohome's insignificant financial contribution to the group, and added, the deal will allow Ping An "to focus their time and resources on other higher-return businesses".
Ping An was looking to offload its stake in Autohome and held talks with several strategic and private equity investors, Reuters reported in 2021, citing sources.
The group had bought a 47.4% stake in Autohome in 2016 for $1.6 billion from Australian telecom giant Telstra.
Founded in 2005, Autohome serves as an information portal for automobile buyers and an online car-trading marketplace in China.
Autohome, with a market cap of $3.93 billion according to data compiled by LSEG, has plummeted over 66% since its March 2021 debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The company's net income attributable to ordinary shareholders and revenue declined about 13% and 2%, respectively for fiscal 2024.
(Reporting by John Biju in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Vijay Kishore)
