Shanghai conglomerate Fosun International has paid US$150.11 million for a 13.33 per cent stake in advertising firm Focus Media Holding, expanding its diversified investment portfolio into a new industry.
The company bought 17.27 million American depositary shares of Focus Media between November 17 and December 22 on the Nasdaq Stock Market, Fosun said in a statement filed with the Hong Kong stock exchange yesterday.
Fosun on average paid US$8.69 for each share, a 9.38 per cent discount to the advertising firm's closing price of US$9.59 on Tuesday. Focus Media shares have slumped 83.12 per cent this year.
'We'll hold the shares as a strategic investment,' said Sun Jun, the assistant president of Fosun.
Fosun's businesses range from retail to pharmaceutical, financial services and strategic investments, property development, mining and steel.
The purchase, which will make Fosun the biggest shareholder in Focus Media, could boost its investment in consumer-related sectors that would benefit from Beijing's economic stimulus to boost domestic consumption, Mr Sun said.
