SAN DIEGO, Dec. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Brandes
Investment Partners, L.P. ("Brandes"), which has acquired, over
time, approximately 5% of the common stock of AsiaInfo-Linkage,
Inc. (NASDAQ: ASIA) ("AsiaInfo-Linkage" or the "Company") for
and on behalf of its investment advisory clients, today issued the
following statement:
"Brandes reiterates its opposition to the pending
AsiaInfo-Linkage privatization offer, which is scheduled for a
shareholder vote on December 19. Brandes welcomes independent
proxy advisor Institutional Shareholder Services' recommendation
for shareholders to vote against the $12 per share offer, as we agree that it does not
fairly represent the fundamental value of the company.
Moreover, since the proposed transaction involves a related
party, we continue to believe that the process is flawed and that
approval should require support from a majority of independent
shareholders.
"We would also like to highlight the following
considerations:
- The Company's takeover price was established almost two years
ago, when both the stock market and industry conditions were
considerably less favorable. We believe the $12 offer price took advantage of the Company's
very depressed share price of two years ago and that conditions are
meaningfully better now.
- Today, the outlook for the Chinese telecom billing and customer
relationship software industry appears much more favorable to
us. China's telecom industry is in the early stages of a very
aggressive 4G LTE rollout. We believe that the 4G LTE
rollout and increased data usage in China will very likely lead to more upgrades
and expansion in software, which could meaningfully benefit the
Company.
- Since the initial go-private proposal, AsiaInfo-Linkage
experienced a cyclical downturn, yet managed to grow revenues by
approximately 14% in 2012 and 12% in the first 9 months of
2013. Since $12 was offered
almost two years ago, it gives no credit for the business value
that has accrued since that time.
- During the period of the go-private proposal, research coverage
of AsiaInfo-Linkage has faded substantially, reducing awareness of
the Company among the investment community and hindering the
market's ability to recognize the true value of the Company.
"In summary, Brandes will vote against the Company's go-private
proposal and believes that the interests of independent
shareholders will be better served by voting against the proposal
as well."
About Brandes Investment Partners, L.P.
Brandes is a
leading investment advisory firm that specializes in managing
global equity and fixed-income assets for clients worldwide. Since
the firm's inception in 1974, Brandes has consistently applied the
value investing approach (pioneered by Benjamin Graham) to security selection and was
among the first investment firms to bring a global perspective to
value investing. The independently owned firm manages approximately
$26 billion on behalf of clients in a
variety of active investment strategies.
SOURCE Brandes Investment Partners