Sou Hu Cai Jing·2025-08-29 10:35Group 1 - Haier Group, through its subsidiary Katai Chi Holdings, has completed the strategic acquisition of approximately 43.0% of Autohome's shares from Ping An's Yuncheng Capital for about $1.8 billion, becoming the controlling shareholder of Autohome [2] - Ping An Property & Casualty will remain a major shareholder of Autohome, holding approximately 5.1% of shares through Yuncheng Capital and retaining a board seat [2] - The board of Autohome has been restructured, with Yang Song resigning as CEO and being replaced by Liu Chi, who is also the head of Haier Group's automotive sector [2] Group 2 - Autohome, as a leading automotive vertical media platform, has 280 million registered users and an average daily usage time exceeding 40 minutes, which can help Haier in traffic conversion [3] - Competitors like Midea and Gree are also entering the automotive sector through investments and collaborations, indicating the need for Haier to act to avoid falling behind [3] - Following the acquisition, Haier can enhance its financial capabilities, as Autohome reported a net income of 1.758 billion yuan for Q2 2025, down from 1.873 billion yuan in the same period of 2024, and a net profit of 415.7 million yuan, down from 524.8 million yuan in 2024 [3] - The direct target of Haier's acquisition is the automotive aftermarket, as it aims to leverage Autohome's established service system to fill gaps in online traffic and transaction platforms [3]