Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. moved closer to a full takeover of Wing Hang Bank after it raised its stake in the Hong Kong lender by 11 percentage points in five days.
OCBC, based in Singapore, bought 346,870 Wing Hang shares at HK$124.7659 each yesterday, taking its holding to 67.8%, a filing with Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission showed today. OCBC had 56.9% on July 17, up just 6.5 percentage points since July 4, filings showed.
Acceptances for the US$5 billion ($6.21 billion) bid dragged earlier this month as Elliott Capital Advisors LP boosted its stake in Wing Hang, which Mizuho Securities Asia said at the time could put pressure on OCBC to raise its HK$125 per share bid price. The offer, made in April, has been accepted by shareholders including the family of Wing Hang’s Chairman Patrick Fung.
“It’s nice to see this moving in the right direction,” Jim Antos, a Mizuho analyst based in Hong Kong, said by phone today. For minority shareholders, “HK$125 is a more than fair price for Wing Hang Bank. Looking at the history of bank mergers in Hong Kong, it’s a fair deal.”
Hong Kong regulations allow OCBC to delist Wing Hang once it owns 90% of the shares. Should it fall short, OCBC must ensure that at least 25% of Wing Hang stock remains in public hands, meaning it may have to sell stock to cut its stake. The offer closes July 29.
Koh Ching Ching, a Singapore-based spokeswoman for OCBC, declined to comment on the bank’s increased stake.
OCBC shares gained 0.7% to $9.65 today. Wing Hang dropped 0.3% to HK$124.60 in Hong Kong.
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