China Electronics Corp (中國電子), a Chinese-government controlled investor in technology companies, will increase its holding in TPV Technology Ltd (冠捷), a move that may prompt a takeover offer. Mitsui & Co also plans to buy a stake.
Royal Philips Electronics NV, has agreed to sell a 9.5 percent stake in TPV to CEIEC (H.K.) Ltd., a unit of China Electronics, the Dutch company said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.
TPV, the world’s biggest contract maker of computer monitors and which has a market capitalization of HK$10.3 billion (US$1.33 billion), suspended its shares from trading in Singapore and Hong Kong yesterday pending an announcement on a possible general offer, it said in a regulatory filing.
China Electronics, TPV’s biggest shareholder, may be interested in adding to its stake in the monitor maker as demand for computer products increases, CIMB-GK Pte (聯昌國際證券) analyst Jonathan Ng said.
Beijing-based China Electronics raised its holding in TPV to 27 percent in July, following a series of share purchases that began in 2007, Hong Kong stock exchange data shows.
“The fourth quarter turned out to be quite good for the industry as a whole, so the company should also do quite well,” said Ng, who rates TPV shares “outperform.”
China Electronics also plans to expand investment in producing liquid-crystal-display panels, a line of business that would integrate with TPV’s monitor operations, the Singapore-based analyst said.
Japan’s Mitsui & Co will pay HK$1.22 billion for a 10 percent stake in TPV, the company said in a statement to the Tokyo Stock Exchange yesterday.
It plans to pay HK$5.20 per share for the company, and may increase its stake to as much as 20 percent, it said.
TPV rose 1.7 percent to HK$4.88 in Hong Kong on Thursday, while the company’s Singapore-listed shares last changed hands at S$0.83 (US$0.59) on Jan. 27, Bloomberg data shows.
TPV, whose investors also include Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子), almost doubled in Hong Kong trading last year as the global economic recovery helped boost sales of PCs.
Chi Mei, the second-biggest LCD maker in Taiwan, last year said it would merge with Innolux Display Co (群創光電), named by Citigroup Inc as TPV’s biggest competitor in the monitor market.
Chi Mei spokesman Eddie Chen (陳彥松) said yesterday the Taiwanese shareholder plans to keep its stake in TPV. Chi Mei owns 7.1 percent of TPV, Bloomberg data shows.
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