(Yicai Global) May 29 -- Shares in Tuniu have surged by more than 28 percent after Caissa Tosun Development revealed a subsidiary would purchase all of affiliate and e-commerce giant JD.Com’s equity in the online travel agency, possibly preventing the target from a forced Nasdaq delisting.

Tuniu stock [NASDAQ:TOUR] closed at USD1.10 yesterday local time, finishing above the USD1 share price it needs to retain to prevent delisting. The firm’s shares had not closed a day above the threshold since early April.

Caesar Sega Tourism Culture Development Group will acquire around 78.1 million Class A common shares in Tuniu from JD.Com units JD.Com E-Commerce Investment Hong Kong and Fabulous Jade Global, Caissa, which is also engaged in the travel sector, said in a statement yesterday. The firms are still discussing terms and have not finalized a price, it added.

The Nasdaq’s Listing Qualifications Department informed Tuniu on May 18 that it had been trading below the minimum requirement for 30 trading days. The Nasdaq can stop a company from trading if its share price stays below the minimum for 90 days following the warning without spending at least 10 consecutive days above USD1, and delist a firm after 180 days if the requirement is not met.

Beijing-based Caissa and Tuniu had early struck up an agreement to work together in the tourism sector by utilizing their respective strengths in offline, overseas and online, domestic markets. Some saw the deal as a frontrunner to an equity partnership.

Caissa revealed on April 26 that JD.Com unit Suqian Hanbang Investment Management would pay CNY450 million (USD63 million) to add to its equity holdings in Caissa, a deal that would make JD.Com its fifth-largest shareholder with a near 7.4 percent stake. Caissa’s largest shareholder is Caesar Sega, which holds 25.13 percent.

Editor: James Boynton