Vanke fires latest salvo in takeover battle with Baoneng
Housebuilder sends 8,000-word open letter to securities regulators accusing its largest shareholder of illegal fund raising
China Vanke fired the latest salvo in its takeover battle with Baoneng Group on Tuesday, after filing a "open letter" with the securities regulators, accusing its largest shareholder of illegal fund raising as it increased its stake over the past year in the housebuilder.
Vanke’s A-shares have now tumbled almost 30 per cent since they resumed trading on July 4.
In the 8,000-word document, the nation’s largest homebuilder said Baoneng had borrowed from nine high-leverage asset management programmes (AMPs) to increase its stake in Vanke since late last year, which breached a number of regulations including the Securities Investment Fund Law.
Baoneng, through its unit Jushenghua and Foresea Life, now controls 25.4 per cent of Vanke.
As its shares continue to drop, the developer said there are huge question marks over whether Baoneng’s leveraged capital chain is sustainable.
They could trigger a crash in the company’s value and hurt the interests of many minority shareholders, said the letter, which was sent to four securities regulators including the country’s top supervisor, China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).