Pactera to be Taken Private by Blackstone Consortium

China's largest technology outsourcing firm Pactera Technology (NASDAQ:PACT) agreed to be taken private by a consortium led by Blackstone Group (NYSE:BX) on Thursday for $7.30 a share in cash.

The deal represents a 39% premium over its closing price of $5.26 a share on May 17, the last day of trading before the company announced it had received a “going private” proposal from a consortium.

Shares of Beijing-based Pactera, which provides IT and consulting services to multinational enterprises, were up about 8% in recent trade to $7.06, though they remain off about 11% on the year even with Thursday's bump.

The company has had a rough year since it was formed in 2012 when HiSoft Technology merged with VancelInfo Technologies. Pactera's shares had been on a steep decline until a deal to buy Pactera for $7.50 a share, or $680 million in total, was first floated in May.

The transaction announced on Thursday remains subject to various closing conditions, including approval from shareholders and antitrust regulators.

Other members of the group set to own a privately-held Pactera after the deal closes are certain members of the Pactera’s current management team, including Chris Chen, its non-executive chairman, and CEO Tiak Koon Loh, as well as GGV Capital and affiliates.

Shareholder GGV has already agreed to vote its shares in favor of the deal, and Pactera’s board of directors, acting on a unanimous recommendation from a special committee, has approved of the agreement.

Blackstone is expected to provide equity financing for the deal, while Bank of America Merrill Lynch (NYSE:BAC), Citigroup Global Markets Asia (NYSE:C) and HSBC Bank USA (NYSE:HBC) have agreed to provide committed debt financing.

JPMorgan Securities (NYSE:JPM) acted as exclusive financial advisor to the special committee, while Citigroup Global Markets acted as sole financial advisor to the consortium.