Morgan Stanley offered after the stock market closed to sell its stake in mainland sportswear supplier China Dongxiang (Group) for as much as HK$570 million, fund managers said.
The US bank will sell 203.8 million Dongxiang shares to institutional investors through wholly owned units MS Apparel and MS Apparel II at between HK$2.70 and HK$2.80 each, according to a sale document obtained by fund managers.
The price represents a discount of up to 8.2 per cent to Dongxiang's closing price of HK$2.94 yesterday.
Morgan Stanley, which is also the sole placing agent of the share sale, cashed in HK$1 billion from selling down its stake in the firm last year.
According to stock exchange filings, Morgan Stanley owned 266 million Dongxiang shares or 4.71 per cent of the company. A source said Morgan Stanley had reduced its stake over the past eight months and would own no more shares after yesterday's offer.
Dongxiang surged 24 per cent last month, touching a high of HK$3.23 on March 25, the day the company reported earnings. Profit rose 86 per cent to 1.37 billion yuan (HK$1.55 billion) last year, with a 94 per cent increase in sales to 3.32 billion yuan.