Ping An Insurance (Group) Co (平安保險), China’s second-largest insurer, said it would extend the deadline for the planned acquisition of Shenzhen Development Bank Co (深圳發展銀行) shares from Newbridge Capital LLC to April 30 from Dec. 31.
The insurer may further extend the deadline by 180 days beyond April 30, a filing to the Shanghai exchange said.
Ping An extended the deadline after talks with Newbridge, it said, without elaborating.
Shenzhen Development shares were suspended from trading from yesterday pending a statement.
Ping An agreed in June to buy 520.4 million Shenzhen Development shares from the Asian unit of TPG Inc as part of a deal to buy a 22 billion yuan (US$3.2 billion) stake in the lender.
The insurer at the time also agreed to purchase as many as 585 million new shares from Shenzhen Development.
“It could be because the regulatory approvals haven’t been completed,” said Nan Sheng, a Shanghai-based analyst at UOB Kayhian Investment Co. “It shouldn’t have any major impact on Ping An, as you can see in its A-share performance.”
Ping An shares fell 0.7 percent to 51.90 yuan in Shanghai yesterday, cutting this year’s gain to 95 percent. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index has climbed 73 percent this year.
Regulatory approval procedures are “proceeding normally,” Ping An said in an e-mailed statement on Thursday. The insurer and Newbridge are “confident” about completing the deal, the statement said.
“It’s difficult to guess” the reason for Shenzhen Development’s suspension, said Li Wen (李文), a Beijing-based analyst at Donghai Securities Co (東海證券). “It won’t be Ping An’s extension of the deadline because it’s not a big thing.”
Li raised his rating on Shenzhen Development to “buy” from “outperform,” citing the lender’s business performance and expected improvement in capital strength as a result of the Ping An stake purchase.
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