AsiaInfo Technology intends to acquire 94.23% of iResearch's equity for 512 million yuan

On January 14, 2022, AsiaInfo Technology (01675.HK) announced that on January 14, 2022, Beijing AsiaInfo (an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company) entered into an agreement with the seller pursuant to which Beijing AsiaInfo had agreed to acquire approximately 94.23% of iResearch's equity interest in iResearch for a total consideration of RMB511.7804 million.

It is reported that iResearch, founded by Yang Weiqing in November 2002 in China, is a leading brand in the field of new economy and industrial digital insight research and consulting in China, mainly engaged in industry research, user research, data insight, strategy and digital consulting and planning and other professional services, and has industry leading advantages in new economy and digital strategy consulting services, global user insight analysis SaaS tools, user insights and digital technology solutions combined with large and small data. Over the years, iResearch has served more than 2,000 customers in the fields of technology, media and communications, new economy, and consumer. Prior to the completion of the first share transfer of the Acquisition, iResearch had approximately 94.23% interest in the Vendor and approximately 5.77% interest in the Target Group's Employee Shareholding Platform.

With the continuous improvement of iResearch's brand influence, professional service capabilities and customer solutions, the depth of cooperation with customers continues to advance rapidly, and the application scenarios and value of customer services continue to increase. In 2021, iResearch's business expansion accelerated and its profitability also improved significantly. Revenue in the first half of 2021 increased by approximately 39.72% year-on-year, and profit after tax increased by approximately RMB8.6 million over the same period of the previous year.

The announcement said that the current process of social digitalization is accelerating, and the boundaries of data information services have been further extended. The Group continues to increase its DSaaS business development efforts, using the operating model of "solution + scenario-based SaaS application + operation platform + expert service" to dig deeper into multi-dimensional data resources, help ecological partners conduct data analysis, and provide SaaS-based industry solutions to help improve customer perception, customer experience improvement, intelligent operation, value enhancement and market growth in multiple key industries.

iResearch consulting deeply cultivates business decision-making service scenarios, and provides customers with professional services such as industry research, user research, data insights, strategy and digital consulting and planning driven by technology and data, helping customers improve their cognitive level, profitability and comprehensive competitiveness. The acquisition will greatly enhance the Group's ability to transform its digital operations in DSaaS and digital intelligence, combine the competitive advantages of the Group's digital operations with iResearch's insights in the Internet, retail and other industries and multi-industry application scenarios to generate greater business value and quickly enhance the Group's competitiveness in the market outside of communication operators, and at the same time extend the Group's business capabilities from product development, solutions, system integration, delivery implementation, and digital intelligence operations to industry research, user research, and data insights 3. Strategic and digital consulting and planning, forming a closed loop for customer service, significantly enhancing the influence of the industry, and becoming a full-stack capability supplier and leading enterprise in the digital intelligence industry. Through the acquisition, it will bring significant value returns to the Group's future business expansion and brand enhancement. This move is fully in line with the Group's strategic goal of "one consolidation, three development".