Michael Ying Lee-yuen, the largest shareholder in Esprit Holdings, was looking to cash in 35 million shares of the global fashion chain at $31.30 each yesterday, according to market sources.
The sale, if successful, would net Mr Ying $1.09 billion.
The market was not too surprised about the placement news, given the frequent share disposals by the company's majority shareholders. It is the third time in less than six months key shareholders disposed of part of their holdings.
In mid-February, Jurgen Friedrich, the second-largest shareholder in the company, sold 20 million shares at $28.80 each, and in October last year Mr Ying disposed of 50 million shares at $23.94 apiece.
The latest placement, arranged by ABN Amro, was more aggressively priced than the previous two, at a 3.39 per cent discount to yesterday's closing price of $32.40, compared with a 3.67 per cent discount in the February placement and 5 per cent in the October disposal.
The sale comes at a time when sentiment is already weak, which has resulted in a negative market response to the most recent placements, including Royal Dutch/ Shell Group's sale of its entire stake in China Petroleum & Chemical Corp in the middle of last month.