Hopewell shares shoot up 31 per cent after developer unveils HK$21.26 billion privatisation plan
- Founded by tycoon Gordon Wu Ying-sheung and listed in 1972, Hopewell will be one of the longest listed companies to go private
- The developer has landmark buildings and projects such as Hopewell Centre in Wan Chai and built the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Superhighway
Hopewell Holdings, a major Hong Kong infrastructure and property developer, announced a HK$21.26 billion plan to go private, sending its share price up 32 per cent in Thursday morning trading.
The share price rose to HK$34.9, up 32 per cent from its close on November 30 at HK$26.45 when it suspended trading pending for the announcement. It finished the day at HK$34.55, up 31 per cent from the close on November 30.
That trading level was still below the privatisation price offered at HK$38.8 per share announced by the company in a stock exchange filing late Wednesday night.
The company, chaired and founded by Gordon Wu Ying-sheung, said it plans to spend HK$21.26 billion, or HK$38.8 per share, to buy out all 547.85 million shares of the company to cancel its listing status and turn it private. Citi is the financial adviser for the deal.
Chairman Wu and his family own 36.93 per cent of Hopewell, which first listed on the stock exchange of Hong Kong in August 1972. If it succeeds, it would be one of the longest listed companies in the city to turn private.
The company is known for many landmark projects over the past decades, including the Hopewell Centre in Wan Chai, as well as the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Superhighway and the Western Delta Route.