Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin’s (王健林) Dalian Wanda Group Co (萬達集團) is offering HK$34.5 billion (US$4.4 billion) to buy out its Hong Kong-listed property unit as it seeks a higher valuation for the business on Chinese stock exchanges.
Wanda Group is to pay HK$52.80 for each Hong Kong-traded share of Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co (大連萬達商業地產), the company said yesterday in a statement, 10 percent higher than an earlier offer of at least HK$48 and 3 percent higher than its last trading price of HK$51.25 before trading was halted on April 22.
The shares, which have traded in Hong Kong for less than two years, fell to HK$49.60 at 1:09pm after resuming trading yesterday.
Photo: AP
Wang, who controls Wanda Commercial’s Beijing-based parent, told China Central Television on Sunday last week that the unit is “substantially undervalued” and must proceed with the privatization.
The billionaire has been seeking investors to help purchase as much as 14.41 percent of the shopping-mall operator and relist it in China, according to a document sent to prospective backers.
Going-private deals that aim to relocate overseas share listings to Shanghai or Shenzhen have been under the spotlight after China’s stock regulator voiced concerns such transactions could flood its market. Wanda’s transaction is pending shareholder and regulatory approvals, the statement said.
In its pitch to investors, Wanda Group cited an average valuation of 29 times estimated full-year earnings for mainland listings, based on four companies engaged in managing free-trade zones and industrial parks. Wanda Commercial was trading at about 6.4 times earnings before trading was halted last month, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.
Wanda Group is to proceed with plans to buy out the property unit after considering whether to scrap the deal in the wake of regulatory concerns, people familiar with the matter said.
Wang joins a growing number of Chinese tycoons seeking loftier valuations for their companies by moving their listings from Hong Kong and New York.
Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd (恆大地產集團) might consider going private or listing in China given its chairman’s view that the developer’s valuation in Hong Kong is distorted, Citigroup Inc said in an April 18 report.
US-listed SouFun Holdings Ltd (搜房網), China’s biggest real-estate Web portal, is seeking to move its shares to Shanghai via a backdoor listing.
Such deals have drawn regulator scrutiny, with the China Securities Regulator Commission saying earlier this month that it is conducting research on their possible impact.
Regulatory concerns have recently roiled shares of US-traded Chinese companies such as Qihoo 360 Technology Co (奇虎360), which have announced privatization plans.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
UNCERTAINTY: Investors remain worried that trade negotiations with Washington could go poorly, given Trump’s inconsistency on tariffs in his second term, experts said The consumer confidence index this month fell for a ninth consecutive month to its lowest level in 13 months, as global trade uncertainties and tariff risks cloud Taiwan’s economic outlook, a survey released yesterday by National Central University found. The biggest decline came from the timing for stock investments, which plunged 11.82 points to 26.82, underscoring bleak investor confidence, it said. “Although the TAIEX reclaimed the 21,000-point mark after the US and China agreed to bury the hatchet for 90 days, investors remain worried that the situation would turn sour later,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for
RSS