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Mergers & Acquisitions
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  • Investors who ‘share the same values’ are welcome to acquire stakes in all units, chairman Xu Xiaoliang says
  • Media reports earlier this month said parent firm Fosun International was considering selling a stake in Atlantis Sanya resort in Hainan
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M&A activity in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to bounce back by around 10 per cent in the second half of this year after a lacklustre 2023, with India and Japan likely to emerge as winners, EY’s Yew-Poh Mak tells the Post.

Chinese investors sold US$31.7 billion of US commercial real estate between 2019 and last year, 15 times more than what they acquired during the same period, according to MSCI Real Assets.

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GSR Ventures’ Allen Zhu sees the current investor interest generated by artificial intelligence start-ups that are building large language models as based on a ‘fear of missing out’.

Fosun Tourism Group, the leisure and tourism unit of Fosun International, said on Wednesday that it is “financially sound”, amid reports that its parent firm is mulling the sale of a stake in the luxury resort to cope with debt.

With Southeast Asian aviation experiencing a ‘purple patch’, the Malaysia-based carrier is set to witness its ‘best ever period’, founder Tony Fernandes said. ‘I’ve never been this bullish before’.

A consortium led by state-owned Sinopharm has revived a take-private bid for China-TCM, the Hong-Kong-listed drug maker said on Wednesday, valuing it at US$2.96 billion.

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Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li Tzar-kai will retain control of Hong Kong-based insurer FWD Group amid speculation about a potential stake sale. A stock offering will be considered at an opportune time, its major shareholder says.

‘Conditions precedent to closing of the transaction were not satisfied,’ CK Hutchison says in exchange filing. The deal, which was announced last May, had set an enterprise value for the joint venture of US$3.7 billion.

Link Reit, which bought a 50 per cent interest in Qibao Vanke Plaza in April 2021, plans to acquire the remaining 50 per cent stake from the indebted Chinese developer.

The family of Henry Cheng, Hong Kong’s third-richest person, wants to replace CEO Peter Lau with Colin Currie and also appoint two of Henry’s children, Sonia and Christopher, as non-executive directors.

Douyu and Huya say they have no plans to merge after a failed attempt in 2020, but they are collaborating as Tencent prepares to allow its top games back on rival platform Douyin.

Chinese social media and gaming giant Tencent Holdings has acquired a controlling stake in a 15-year-old local video game studio, a move that fits with the company’s revenue diversification strategy.

Global and domestic private-equity investors are making a comeback to the Chinese M&A market following three straight years of decline, as they look to profit from an economic recovery, Bain & Co says.

TikTok owner ByteDance has confirmed that it is in talks with multiple potential buyers for its video game operations, including Tencent Holdings, the world’s biggest gaming company by revenue.

The Public Investment Fund was the world’s most active sovereign investor last year, deploying US$31.6 billion in 2023 versus US$20.7 billion the previous year, according to research consultancy Global SWF

For deal flows to be revived, buyers need to be more confident about China’s growth, and they need to see some strong and high-profile deals go through first, industry insiders say.

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The merger would combine Hollywood film and TV studios of the two companies, and bring many pay-TV and broadcast stations, such as HBO and CBS, under a single roof.

Deal makers are coming to the end of their worst year for mergers and acquisitions since 2013, having seen hopes of a recovery choked off by reluctant lenders and geopolitical flare-ups.

For its first big deal ever, the Swiss watchmaker dropped US$69 million to acquire the brand, which was formerly owned by Hong Kong-based Stelux Group

The billionaire has offered HK$26.1 billion, or HK$23.50 per share, to buy 92.3 per cent of Vinda he does not already control. Major shareholders Essity and Li Chaowang have agreed to accept the offer.

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China’s leadership has called for the construction of ‘first-class’ investment institutions, but those in leading firms aren’t sure what meeting that goal will entail, or how to overcome the many barriers to achieving it.

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The focus on shareholder returns partly reflects HSBC’s new strategy to deflect last year’s break-up call by its largest stakeholder Ping An Group.

Beijing-based IDG is raising funds from investors for the potential transaction, according to sources. A deal would give IDG a stake in one of China’s last few carmakers that is not publicly listed.

The start-up's new board will be chaired by former Salesforce co-chief executive Bret Taylor and include former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.