New | Vanke delays restructuring plan as Evergrande keeps its hand hidden
Evergrande has amassed 10.2 per cent of Vanke, but has kept its intentions hidden
China Vanke Co., the prize in a boardroom tussle that’s gripped the country, said it postponed a shareholders’ meeting to discuss a restructuring plan, as its third-largest shareholder kept its hands hidden as to whether it intends to be a friend or foe in the hostile takeover.
“Vanke will further delay the despatch of the circular of a restructuring plan raised this June,” China’s second-largest property developer said in a filing to the Hong Kong and Shenzhen bourses on Monday night.
The announcement follows the disclosure by China Evergrande Group on the same day that it had amassed 10.2 per cent of Vanke’s Shenzhen-traded A shares.
Evergrande began accumulating Vanke shares in August, starting with a 4.7 per cent stake that increased to 7 per cent, and then to 8.3 per cent by October.
Still, Guangzhou-based Evergrande hadn’t said what it intends to do with its stake, equivalent to the third-largest voting bloc in Vanke.
The stake puts Evergrande within striking distance to bid for the holdings of Vanke’s two largest shareholders, in an acquisition that could bolster its land bank and its balance sheet, said China Real Estate Information Corp.’s research head David Hong.