Le Gaga Holdings Limited (Nasdaq:GAGA) ("Le Gaga" or the
"Company"), a leading greenhouse vegetable producer in China, today
announced that it has entered into a definitive Agreement and Plan
of Merger (the "Merger Agreement") with Harvest Parent Limited
("Parent"), a Cayman Islands exempted company with limited
liability, and Harvest Merger Limited ("Merger Sub"), a Cayman
Islands exempted company with limited liability. Pursuant to the
Merger Agreement, Parent will acquire the Company for US$0.0812 per
ordinary share or US$4.06 per American Depositary Share, each
representing 50 ordinary shares ("ADS"). This represents a 21.56%
premium over the closing price of US$3.34 per ADS as quoted by the
NASDAQ Global Select Market ("NASDAQ") on May 21, 2013, and a
22.17% premium over the volume-weighted average trading price of
the Company's ADSs during the 30 trading days prior to, and
including, May 21, 2013, the last trading day prior to the
Company's announcement on May 22, 2013 that it had received a
"going private" proposal.
The consideration to be paid to holders of ordinary shares and
ADSs under the Merger Agreement also represents an increase of
US$0.05 from the original US$4.01 per ADS offer price set forth in
the May 21, 2013 non-binding proposal letter from Ms. Na Lai Chiu,
the chairperson of the Company's board of directors, Mr. Shing Yung
Ma, a director and the chief executive officer of the Company, and
SC China Holdings Limited, on behalf of funds managed and/or
advised by it and its and their affiliates. On March 18, 2014,
Yiheng Capital, LLC ("Yiheng"), on behalf of funds managed and/or
advised by it and its and their affiliates, joined the consortium
of investors (the "Consortium").
Immediately following the consummation of the transactions
contemplated under the Merger Agreement, Parent will be
beneficially owned by (i) Ms. Na Lai Chiu, (ii) Valuetrue
Investments Limited, a British Virgin Islands company wholly-owned
by Ms. Na Lai Chiu ("Valuetrue Investments"), (iii) Mr. Shing Yung
Ma, (iv) Grow Grand Limited, a British Virgin Islands company
wholly-owned by Mr. Shing Yung Ma ("Grow Grand"), (v) Sequoia
Capital China I, L.P., Sequoia Capital China Partners Fund I, L.P.,
Sequoia Capital China Principals Fund I, L.P., Sequoia Capital
China Growth Fund I, L.P., Sequoia Capital China Growth Partners
Fund I, L.P. and Sequoia Capital China GF Principals Fund I, L.P.
(collectively, "Sequoia"), (vi) YH Greenhouse, LLC, a Delaware
limited liability company ("YH Greenhouse"), (vii) SIG China
Investments One, Ltd., a Cayman Islands company ("SIG"), (viii)
Honeycomb Assets Management Limited, a British Virgin Islands
company ("Honeycomb"), (ix) Limewater Limited, a British Virgin
Islands company ("Limewater"), (x) Natural Eternity Limited, a
British Virgin Islands company ("Natural Eternity"), (xi) Win
Seasons Holdings Limited, a Hong Kong company ("Win Seasons"),
(xii) Pacven Walden Ventures VI, L.P. and Pacven Walden Ventures
Parallel VI, L.P., Cayman Islands limited partnerships
(collectively, "Pacven"), and (xiii) Mr. Ming Ho Lui (together with
Ms. Na Lai Chiu, Valuetrue Investments, Mr. Shing Yung Ma, Grow
Grand, Sequoia, YH Greenhouse, SIG, Honeycomb, Limewater, Natural
Eternity, Win Seasons and Pacven, the "Rollover
Shareholders").
Subject to the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement, at
the effective time of the Merger, Merger Sub will merge with and
into the Company, with the Company continuing as the surviving
corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (the "Merger")
and each of the Company's ordinary shares issued and outstanding
immediately prior to the effective time of the Merger (including
ordinary shares represented by ADSs) will be cancelled in
consideration for the right to receive US$0.0812 per ordinary share
or US$4.06 per ADS, in each case, in cash and without interest,
except for (i) the ordinary shares and ADSs beneficially owned by
Parent, any wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (including Merger
Sub) or the Rollover Shareholders, all of which will be cancelled
at the effective time of the Merger for no consideration, and (ii)
ordinary shares owned by holders who have validly exercised and not
effectively withdrawn or lost their appraisal rights pursuant to
Section 238 of the Companies Law of the Cayman Islands, which
ordinary shares will be cancelled at the effective time of the
Merger for the right to receive the value of such shares in
accordance with the provisions of Section 238 of the Companies Law
of the Cayman Islands.
The Consortium intends to fund the Merger through a combination
of the proceeds from (a) a cash investment by Yiheng pursuant to an
equity commitment letter dated July 30, 2014 from Yiheng, and (b) a
term loan from China Minsheng Banking Corp., Ltd., Hong Kong Branch
("Minsheng Bank"), pursuant to a facility agreement dated July 30,
2014. Each of Valuetrue Investments, Grow Grand, Sequoia and Yiheng
has also entered into a limited guarantee in favor of the Company
pursuant to which they have agreed to guarantee certain payment
obligations of Parent and Merger Sub under the Merger
Agreement.
The Company's board of directors, acting upon the unanimous
recommendation of the special committee (the "Special Committee")
formed by the board of directors, unanimously approved the Merger
Agreement and the Merger and resolved to recommend that the
Company's shareholders vote to authorize and approve the Merger
Agreement and the Merger. The Special Committee, which is comprised
solely of independent directors of the Company who are unaffiliated
with Parent, Merger Sub or any of the management members of the
Company, exclusively negotiated the terms of the Merger Agreement
with the assistance of its financial and legal advisors.
The Merger, which is currently expected to close during the
second half of 2014, is subject to customary closing conditions as
well as the approval by an affirmative vote of holders of the
Company's ordinary shares representing at least two-thirds of the
ordinary shares present and voting in person or by proxy as a
single class at a meeting of the Company's shareholders which will
be convened to consider the approval of the Merger Agreement and
the Merger. As of the date of the Merger Agreement, the Rollover
Shareholders beneficially own in aggregate approximately 79.70% of
the Company's outstanding shares and, pursuant to a Rollover and
Support Agreement they have entered into with Parent, each Rollover
Shareholder has agreed, among other things, to vote all of his, her
or its ordinary shares of the Company and ADSs in favor of the
authorization and approval of the Merger Agreement and the Merger.
If completed, the Merger will result in the Company becoming a
privately-held company and its ADSs will no longer be listed on
NASDAQ.
Duff & Phelps LLC is serving as financial advisor to the
Special Committee. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is
serving as U.S. legal advisor to the Special Committee and Maples
and Calder is serving as Cayman Islands legal advisor to the
Special Committee. Latham & Watkins LLP is serving as U.S.
legal advisor to the Company.
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP is serving as U.S. legal advisor
to the Consortium and Walkers is serving as Cayman Islands legal
advisor to the Consortium. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom
LLP is serving as U.S. legal advisor to Sequoia. Gunderson Dettmer
Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, LLP is serving as U.S.
legal advisor to Yiheng.White & Case LLP is serving as Hong
Kong legal advisor to Minsheng Bank and Mourant Ozannes is serving
as Cayman Islands legal advisor to Minsheng Bank.
Additional Information about the
Transaction
The Company will furnish to the Securities and Exchange
Commission (the "SEC") a report on Form 6-K regarding the proposed
transactions described in this announcement, which will include the
Merger Agreement. All parties desiring details regarding the Merger
are urged to review these documents, which will be available at the
SEC's website (http://www.sec.gov).
In connection with the Merger, the Company will prepare and mail
a proxy statement to its shareholders. In addition, certain
participants in the Merger will prepare and mail to the Company's
shareholders a Schedule 13E-3 transaction statement. These
documents will be filed with or furnished to the SEC. INVESTORS AND
SHAREHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY
THESE MATERIALS AND OTHER MATERIALS FILED WITH OR FURNISHED TO THE
SEC WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE, AS THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT
INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMPANY, THE MERGER AND RELATED MATTERS. In
addition to receiving the proxy statement and Schedule 13E-3
transaction statement by mail, shareholders also will be able to
obtain these documents, as well as other filings containing
information about the Company, the Merger and related matters,
without charge, from the SEC's website (http://www.sec.gov) or at
the SEC's public reference room at 100 F Street, NE, Room 1580,
Washington, D.C. 20549. In addition, these documents can be
obtained, without charge, by contacting the Company at the
following address and/or phone number:
Le Gaga Holdings Limited Unit 1105, The Metropolis Tower, 10
Metropolis Drive Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Phone: +852-3162-8585
The Company and certain of its directors, executive officers and
other members of management and employees may, under SEC rules, be
deemed to be "participants" in the solicitation of proxies from
shareholders with respect to the Merger. Information regarding the
persons or entities who may be considered "participants" in the
solicitation of proxies will be set forth in the proxy statement
and Schedule 13E-3 transaction statement relating to the Merger
when it is filed with the SEC. Information regarding certain of
these persons and their beneficial ownership of the Company's
ordinary shares as of June 30, 2013 is also set forth in the
Company's Form 20-F, which was filed with the SEC on October 24,
2013.Additional information regarding the interests of such
potential participants will be included in the proxy statement and
Schedule 13E-3 transaction statement and the other relevant
documents filed with the SEC when they become available.
This announcement is neither a solicitation of proxy, an offer
to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell any securities
and it is not a substitute for any proxy statement or other filings
that may be made with the SEC should the Merger proceed.
About Le Gaga Holdings Limited
(Nasdaq:GAGA)
Le Gaga is a leading greenhouse vegetable producer in China. The
Company sells and markets greenhouse vegetables such as peppers,
tomatoes, cucumbers and eggplants, as well as green leafy
vegetables to wholesalers, institutional customers and supermarkets
in China and Hong Kong. The Company has successfully built a
trusted brand among its customers.
The Company currently operates farms in the Chinese provinces of
Fujian, Guangdong and Hebei. Leveraging its large-scale
greenhouses, proprietary horticultural know-how and comprehensive
database, the Company specializes in producing and selling
high-quality, off-season vegetables during the winter months.
Cautionary Statement concerning Forward Looking
Statements
This news release may include certain statements that are not
descriptions of historical facts, but are forward -looking
statements. These forward - looking statements can be identified by
terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future,"
"intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements.
Forward -looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those contained in any such statements. Potential risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, uncertainties as to
how the Company's shareholders will vote at the meeting of
shareholders, the possibility that competing offers will be made,
the possibility that various closing conditions for the Merger may
not be satisfied or waived, and other risks and uncertainties
discussed in Le Gaga's filings with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission, as well as the Schedule 13E-3 transaction
statement and the proxy statement to be filed by the Company. Le
Gaga does not undertake any obligation to update any forward
-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.
For further information about Le Gaga, please visit the
Company's website at www.legaga.com.hk.
CONTACT: For more information, please contact:
PRChina
Jane Liu
Tel: (852) 2522 1838
Email: jliu@prchina.com.hk
Henry Chik
Tel: (852) 2522 1368
Email: hchik@prchina.com.hk
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