Hopewell privatisation plan gains support from its second largest shareholder
- Southeastern Asset Management, which owns 7.99 per cent of Hopewell, voices support for the privatisation motion
- Analysts caution that effort to privatise must meet a high threshold of shareholder approval
Property tycoon Gordon Wu Ying-sheung’s plan to privatise Hopewell Holdings has gained momentum after the company’s second largest shareholder, Southeastern Asset Management, expressed support for the HK$21.2 billion (US$2.71 billion) delisting plan.
Southeastern, a US fund company headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, issued a statement on Monday morning saying it “does not intend to oppose the take private transaction” of Hopewell announced on December 5.
“Southeastern believes its clients and the market benefit by knowing Southeastern is not planning an opposition,” the fund company said in a statement.
Southeastern is Hopewell’s second-largest shareholder with a 7.99 per cent stake in the company. Wu and his family are the largest shareholders, with a combined 36.93 per cent, according to stock exchange data.
The deal, if successful, will allow Southeastern to cash in HK$2.699 billion from its holding.
Wu, 83, is founder and chairman of Hopewell, with a net worth at US$1.4 billion, ranking as the 48th richest man in Hong Kong, according to Forbes.