Ping An Insurance (Group), the country's second-largest insurer, has agreed to buy up to 10 per cent of pharmaceutical firm Yunnan Baiyao Group.
The Shenzhen-listed Yunnan Baiyao said in statement filed with the stock exchange yesterday that it would sell the shares to Ping An through a private placement. It did not give further details.
Based on the stock's last traded price of 33.53 yuan (HK$38.25), the company has a market value of 16.23 billion yuan and a 10 per cent stake will be worth 1.6 billion yuan.
The deal is one of Ping An's rare investments in a non-financial institution. The insurer normally invests in the financial sector or long-term infrastructure projects, such as the debt financing of the high-speed rail link between Shanghai and Beijing.
Trading of Yunnan Baiyao shares has been suspended since July 29 pending an announcement about its fund-raising plans. Trading will resume by August 12.
The company makes the household herbal medicine Yunnan Baiyao for treatment of excessive bleeding.
