Plans of a merger between SinoPac Financial Holdings Co (建華金控) and Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控) made a comeback yesterday, with SinoPac's chairman stressing that shareholders might discuss the proposal thoroughly next month.
"The talks with Taishin did not collapse," Richard Hong (
"Both Taishin and International Bank of Taipei (IBT, 台北商銀) are good merger partners, but the final decision should be made during the annual general meeting on May. 10," he said.
Hong made the remark despite a statement by Taishin chairman Thomas Wu (吳東亮) on March 29 that talks to buy SinoPac had collapsed because its rival wanted to merge with IBT. At the time, Wu also said that SinoPac and Taishin disagree about management restructuring.
But Hong, who was reported to favor a partnership with Taishin, said that he had contacted Wu personally and obtained a letter of intent from him on March 14 offering a 35 percent premium to buy SinoPac for NT$23.50 a share. In the meantime, SinoPac has not yet received a written proposal from IBT, he added.
The letter further states that Paul Lo (盧正昕), president of SinoPac, would hold the position of vice chairman and co-CEO after the merger, Hong said.
With over 80 branches in northern Taiwan, IBT has a larger market presence than Taishin, making IBT a suitable partner for SinoPac, Hong said.
But he noted that foreign investors, who own 30 percent of SinoPac, as well as the other shareholders, have the right to know the details of the proposed merger -- a remark that suggested foreign investors had not been informed of Taishin's merger proposal.
Any future discussion relating to possible mergers must involve independent consultations with professionals to ensure a fair and equitable evaluation, must be advantageous to shareholders of both parties and should seek consensus from the board of directors of SinoPac, Hong said.
Taishin president Julius Chen (
"The merger deal with SinoPac was off three days ago, and whether we will make another offer depends on SinoPac's decision," Chen said, adding that if SinoPac still considers merging with Taishin, the company will convene a board meeting to discuss the issue.
SETBACK: Apple’s India iPhone push has been disrupted after Foxconn recalled hundreds of Chinese engineers, amid Beijing’s attempts to curb tech transfers Apple Inc assembly partner Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known internationally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has recalled about 300 Chinese engineers from a factory in India, the latest setback for the iPhone maker’s push to rapidly expand in the country. The extraction of Chinese workers from the factory of Yuzhan Technology (India) Private Ltd, a Hon Hai component unit, in southern Tamil Nadu state, is the second such move in a few months. The company has started flying in Taiwanese engineers to replace staff leaving, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named, as the
The prices of gasoline and diesel at domestic fuel stations are to rise NT$0.1 and NT$0.4 per liter this week respectively, after international crude oil prices rose last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to rise to NT$27.3, NT$28.8 and NT$30.8 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to rise to NT$26.2 per liter at CPC stations and NT$26 at Formosa pumps, they said. The announcements came after international crude oil prices
DOLLAR SIGNS: The central bank rejected claims that the NT dollar had appreciated 10 percentage points more than the yen or the won against the greenback The New Taiwan dollar yesterday fell for a sixth day to its weakest level in three months, driven by equity-related outflows and reactions to an economics official’s exchange rate remarks. The NT dollar slid NT$0.197, or 0.65 percent, to close at NT$30.505 per US dollar, central bank data showed. The local currency has depreciated 1.97 percent so far this month, ranking as the weakest performer among Asian currencies. Dealers attributed the retreat to foreign investors wiring capital gains and dividends abroad after taking profit in local shares. They also pointed to reports that Washington might consider taking equity stakes in chipmakers, including Taiwan Semiconductor
STABLE DEMAND: Delta supplies US clients in the aerospace, defense and machinery segments, and expects second-half sales to be similar to the first half Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) expects its US automation business to remain steady in the second half, with no signs of weakening client demand. With demand from US clients remaining solid, its performance in the second half is expected to be similar to that of the first half, Andy Liu (劉佳容), general manager of the company’s industrial automation business group, said on the sidelines of the Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robot Show in Taipei on Wednesday. The company earlier reported that revenue from its automation business grew 7 percent year-on-year to NT$27.22 billion (US$889.98 million) in the first half, accounting for 11 percent
RSS