Haier Group has recently unveiled that its subsidiary, Kathay Holding, has successfully concluded a strategic equity investment and board restructuring of Autohome, acquiring a significant 43.0% stake from Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. for approximately US$1.8 billion (roughly equivalent to RMB 13 billion). This milestone marks Haier's official ascent to the position of controlling shareholder in Autohome. The deal, first announced in February of this year, has taken six months to finalize. Post-transaction, Ping An still maintains an indirect holding of approximately 5.1% of Autohome's shares through Yunchen Capital and retains a seat on the board. Haier Group clarified that the acquisition is aimed at expanding its services into the automotive aftermarket, with the two entities planning to jointly forge a novel, user-centric, online-to-offline integrated travel platform.