iSoftStone, a Leader in Global Outsourcing from China, Secures a Round of Financing Led by Everbright

USA - English

• USA - English

BEIJING, Jan. 25 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- iSoftStone Holdings Limited, a leading China-based provider of IT and Business Process Outsourcing Services to clients in China and globally, announced today it has closed a round of financing led by Everbright Private Equity, the private equity arm of China Everbright Limited (Everbright, HKSE: 0165), a leading red-chip financial conglomerate listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and a substantive shareholder of China Everbright Bank. China Everbright Bank, a nationwide commercial bank, has been a client of iSoftStone since 2007. Joining the round were existing investors AsiaVest Partners, Fidelity Asia Ventures, Infotech Pacific Ventures and Mitsui Ventures Global Fund. Also joining this funding round is Wuxi Jinyuan Industry Investment Development Co. Ltd, an investment arm of the Wuxi municipal government, which is making an investment in iSoftStone as part of its commitment to supporting China's rapidly growing outsourcing industry.

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"We are pleased to complete this growth financing with a well-regarded partner such as Everbright Private Equity. We believe that this investment, which comes from an existing client of iSoftStone, is a validation of our service offering, particularly with domestic Chinese banking clients," said TW Liu, Chairman and CEO of iSoftStone. "Additionally, we are pleased that our existing investors have chosen to invest alongside Everbright Private Equity, representative of further confidence in iSoftStone's continued success in what has been a very dynamic market environment."

"Everbright is pleased to have the opportunity to support our strategic relationship with iSoftStone," said Everbright Private Equity's Chairwoman, Ms. He Ling. "iSoftStone's unique 'China + global' market positioning, client value proposition and world-class management team are key differentiators for us, as both a client historically and also now as a strategic investor."

"During the past year, in spite of severely impaired global capital markets, iSoftStone raised more than $65 million, which includes the Everbright-led investment and capital obtained from a number of domestic Chinese commercial banks, which provides a strong capital base to support our continued growth," added Michael Wu, CFO of iSoftStone. "Our strong capital base will be used to fund further growth, including working capital, delivery platform expansion and potential strategic acquisitions."

About iSoftStone

iSoftStone Holdings Limited (iSoftStone) is a global provider of business consulting, IT outsourcing, and business process outsourcing services to clients in the United States, Europe, Japan, Korea, and Greater China. Headquartered in Beijing with offices in key client geographies, iSoftStone provides a comprehensive end-to-end service offering including on-shore client-facing business consulting, and off-shore delivery of IT outsourcing and software product engineering services. iSoftStone focuses on key client industries including financial services, telecommunications, high technology, energy & utilities, and healthcare, etc. For more information, please visit http://www.isoftstone.com .

About Everbright

Everbright Private Equity is the private equity arm of China Everbright Limited (Everbright, HKSE: 0165), a leading red-chip financial conglomerate listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. China Everbright Limited is a substantive shareholder of China Everbright Bank. Established in August 1992, China Everbright Bank is headquartered in Beijing and is a financial institution that is founded under the approval of the State Council and the People's Bank of China. Since its inception, the Bank has been implementing a client-centered and market-oriented strategy in a prudent manner. It closely keeps up with the restructuring and development of the Chinese economy and the financial industry, and continuously reforms and updates itself, providing quality financial services to all its retail and corporate clients. For more information, please visit www.everbright165.com/pefund_1.aspx .

About AsiaVest Partners

AsiaVest Partners, TCW/YFY Ltd. is a leading venture capital firm investing in private companies in the Greater China Region, including Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and the United States. Since its founding in 1995, the Firm has been nurturing companies with innovative technologies, competitive market positions, and strong management teams to develop high growth businesses. The Firm manages over US$980 million with strong presence throughout Asia and the U.S. AsiaVest's investment focus is on the semiconductor, information technology, wireless, software, manufacturing and consumer related industries. For more information, please visit http://www.asiavest.com .

About Fidelity Asia Ventures

Fidelity Asia Ventures (FAV) is the Asian venture capital arm of Fidelity International Ltd., part of the global Fidelity investment organization. FAV has offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai and invests in high-quality, high-growth companies in the Asian information technology and healthcare sectors, focusing primarily on opportunities in China. FAV has a successful track record of investing in leading companies in the region over the past 12 years, including Alibaba, Hurray! (NASDAQ: HRAY), AsiaInfo (NASDAQ: ASIA), Dianji Technology, Wuxi Pharmatech, Xunlei, Zhongsou, and Asia Renal Care. Sister fund, Fidelity Ventures, manages over $800 million in investments from offices in Boston and London. For more information visit http://www.fidelityasiaventures.com .

About Infotech Pacific Ventures

Infotech Pacific Ventures is a China-focused venture capital firm focused on investing in early-stage companies in the semiconductor, components & systems, telecommunication & network technologies as well as enterprise software industries. Infotech primarily seeks early stage opportunities that leverage the vast market, rapid technology adoption and capital efficiency. In addition, Infotech seeks opportunities to invest in companies with disruptive technology and the potential for global scalability. http://www.infotechcapital.com .

About Mitsui Ventures

Mitsui Ventures ( http://www.mitsuiventures.com ) is the venture investment arm of Mitsui & Co., Ltd., an international trading and investment company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan ( http://www.mitsui.co.jp ). Independent of strategic objectives of Mitsui & Co.'s other business units, Mitsui Ventures acts as a financial investor and mainly provides early stage capital to entrepreneurial ventures in the world. Over the years, with a special expertise to accelerate business growth globally, Mitsui Ventures has invested in and contributed to the success of start-ups in the fields of communication, software, information services, life science, medical device, and retail services. Located in Tokyo, New York, Silicon Valley, Shanghai and Seoul, we currently manage over US$350 million in capital.

    Press contact:

    iSoftStone
     Sophie Yang
     Tel:   +86-10-5874-9169
     Email: [email protected]

SOURCE iSoftStone Holdings Limited