Cathay Pacific shares retreat in Hong Kong after Doha-based Qatar Airways acquires 9.6pc stake
Cathay Pacific Airways dropped in Hong Kong after Qatar Airways agreed to buy a stake to become the Hong Kong-based carrier’s third biggest shareholder.
Cathay’s shares fell 1.7 per cent to HK$12.98 in afternoon trading after slumping as much as 4.9 per cent in the morning session. The Doha-based airline will buy a 9.6 per cent stake in Cathay from Kingboard Chemical Holdings and other companies for HK$5.16 billion (US$661.3 million), according to an exchange filing.
Qatar Airways will buy the stock for HK$13.65 per share, the statement said. That represents a 3.4 per cent premium to Cathay’s closing price on Friday. The deal will make Qatar Airways the No 3 shareholder of Cathay Pacific after Swire Group and Air China.
Cathay posted a wider than expected loss of HK$2.05 billion in the first half because of fierce competition in the aviation industry.
Kingboard jumped as much as 2.8 per cent to HK$49.20 in Hong Kong trading before paring the gain to 0.9 per cent. The Hang Seng Index was 0.6 per cent lower in intra day trading on Thursday.
