Smart Share Global (NASDAQ:EM), the Chinese mobile charging giant known as Energy Monster, is poised to go private after shareholders overwhelmingly approved a $327 million merger agreement at an extraordinary general meeting on Wednesday.
The deal, which sees the company become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mobile Charging Investment Ltd. (MidCo), was approved by 92.8% of the votes cast.
Approximately 79% of the company's outstanding ordinary shares participated in the vote, representing 90.9% of the total voting power.
The successful vote marks the final major hurdle for a consortium led by Chairman and CEO Mars Guangyuan Cai and backed by Trustar Capital.
The privatization follows a contentious months-long battle.
Hillhouse Investment, the company’s second-largest shareholder, had labeled the $1.25-per-ADS offer as "premeditated theft," noting that the deal valued the company below its reported cash reserves of $415 million.
Hillhouse submitted a rival non-binding proposal of $1.77 per ADS in August, but the company’s special committee ultimately moved forward with the management-led bid, citing the existing consortium's 64% voting control and their refusal to support any alternative transaction.
Under the terms of the merger, each American Depositary Share (ADS) will be canceled in exchange for $1.25 in cash.
The price represents a 74.8% premium to the company's closing price on January 3, 2025, the day before the initial buyout proposal was made public.
Energy Monster, which operates over 1.2 million points of interest across China, has faced a turbulent public market tenure since its 2021 IPO.
Despite maintaining a dominant market share in the power-bank rental sector, the stock has struggled with liquidity and shifting regulatory sentiment toward US-listed Chinese firms.
Upon completion of the merger, which is expected to close shortly, Energy Monster’s ADSs will be delisted from the Nasdaq Capital Market.
The move joins a growing list of Chinese tech firms opting to exit U.S. exchanges in favor of private ownership or potential future listings in Hong Kong or mainland China.