New | Kaisa sackings dim prospects for Sunac takeover
Troubled Shenzhen developer fires staff hired from suitor following the return of founder
Troubled mainland developer Kaisa Group Holdings has fired three staff members it had appointed from its suitor and larger rival Sunac China Holdings, a move analysts said cast further doubt over the proposed US$385 million takeover.
In an internal notice which appeared in the media, Kaisa said an executive vice-president and two employees at its human resources and administrative department - who were appointed from Sunac after it made the takeover proposal - had been "discharged of their duties".
A Kaisa official confirmed the contents of the circular, but Kaisa and Sunac declined to comment on it.
Sunac offered in February to buy two units of Kaisa and acquire majority stakes in another two, giving the heavily indebted developer a financial lifeline after the authorities in its home base, Shenzhen, blocked sales of several residential projects in December last year.
Last week, Kaisa said the authorities had removed most of the sales block. On Monday, it also reinstated founding chairman Kwok Ying-shing, who had stepped down during the sales freeze, sending its bonds higher.
Executives at Kaisa, which has struggled to repay its US$10 billion debt after the sales block, declined to comment on the takeover proposal.