US investment firm Newbridge Capital insists it still has an exclusive right to acquire a stake in Shenzhen Development Bank (SDB) despite the lender saying it has disbanded a transitional management team, set up by Newbridge, that had been vested with management control.
Newbridge also called on the Shenzhen government to 'respect its international commitments and honour its obligations under the binding international contract'.
SDB, one of the mainland's four listed banks, did not say whether the move meant talks on the acquisition had fallen through.
'The period set for the team has expired and the company's four state-owned shareholders are still unable to reach agreement with Newbridge on a stake acquisition. So the board of directors decided to cancel the team,' SDB said yesterday.
Responding to the SDB statement, Newbridge said: 'Newbridge Capital does not regard the announcement . . . attributed to [SDB] as affecting its binding acquisition agreement with the bank's governmental selling shareholders.'
The binding framework agreement was signed in June last year with four Shenzhen government-backed shareholders, including Shenzhen Investment Management. Relevant regulatory approvals had also been sought, Newbridge said.
The four are reportedly selling nearly 20 per cent of SDB's shares to Newbridge.