Carlyle Group Fund To Buy GE's Stake In Asia Satellite Telecommunications

(RTTNews) - A Carlyle Group fund agreed to acquire General Electric Co.'s (GE) stake in Asia Satellite Telecommunications Holdings Ltd. for as much as HK$3.75 billion or $483 million and then make a buyout offer.

Carlyle Asia Partners IV will seek to take AsiaSat private if enough holders of the Chinese government-backed owner of communications satellites accept the bid. AsiaSat said it plans to pay a special interim dividend of HK$11.89 per share.

The deal comes after two failed buyout offers for AsiaSat. Citic Group Corp. and GE pulled a bid in 2007 after the U.S. State Department refused to approve the deal.

Carlyle, through units, will acquire GE's 50 percent voting interest and 49.5 economic stake in Bowenvale Ltd., a joint venture with China's government-backed Citic. Bowenvale owns 291.17 million shares in AsiaSat, about a 74 percent stake, as its only substantial asset.

Carlyle will pay HK$3.58 billion for the GE stake in Bowenvale, or HK$3.75 billion in the event that there's no "market disruption event" or there is a filing delay, AsiaSat said. It will then offer either HK$24.82 or HK$26 per share for all outstanding stock based on the same criteria.

Carlyle will seek to use compulsory acquisition rights to buy all the outstanding AsiaSat shares in the event that holders accept its offer for at least 90 million shares, AsiaSat said.

The deal values AsiaSat HK$9.71 billion at the lower offer price, HK$10.17 billion at higher price.