China: Vnet founder withdraws acquisition offer

Josh Sheng Chen, co-chairperson and CEO  of Chinese data center firm Vnet (formerly 21Vianet) has withdrawn his offer to acquire all outstanding shares of the company which he made in September 2022.
 

Josh Sheng Chen  said: “I withdrew my privatization proposal as I believe that maintaining Vnet's listing status is better aligned with the company's long-term interests given current market conditions. I remain confident in Vnet's growth potential and will continue to devote myself to its high-quality, sustainable development. Looking ahead, guided by our entrepreneurial mission for the next 25 years to bring green direct-current electricity from AIDC to millions of households, Vnet will continue to leverage its core strengths to capture AI-driven demand, drive industry-wide progress and upgrades in the AGI era, and inject new vitality into China's digital economy."

Jianbiao Zhu, CEO at Shandong Hi-Speed Holdings and co-chairperson at Vnet, added: “We are optimistic about Vnet's future as a listed company and will continue to strengthen our cooperation for mutual success. Together, we are building an AI-powered, green infrastructure platform that will comprehensively cover high-performance computing scenarios such as large language model training, bolstering Vnet's leading position in China's IDC industry.”