(Reuters) – China’s Ping An Healthcare said on Tuesday its parent Ping An Insurance has made an offer to buy the remaining stake in the healthcare firm it does not already own, valuing it at HK$13.23 billion ($1.70 billion).
Ping An Healthcare will continue to remain listed on the stock exchange as the Chinese insurance giant has no plans to privatise the healthcare arm, according to an exchange filing.
Ping An Healthcare’s shareholders will get HK$6.12 in cash for each share held as part of the offer from Ping An Insurance’s unit, which already owns a 39.41% stake in the healthcare firm.
The offer price is at a 2.9% discount to Ping An Healthcare’s last close of HK$6.30.
In mid-November, Ping An Healthcare proposed a special dividend of HK$9.70 apiece, which shareholders elected to receive in the form of shares.
As a result, Ping An Healthcare will issue 1.04 billion new shares, of which the parent company’s unit will be allotted 699 million new shares, taking its stake to 52.74% and triggering the mandatory offer clause.
($1 = 7.7766 Hong Kong dollars)
(Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
