Goldin Properties shares jump after chairman unveils HK$11.87b privatisation offer

Shares of Goldin Properties Holdings, owner of China’s biggest polo club in Tianjin, surged as much as 9 per cent in Hong Kong after its chairman Pan Sutong launched a HK$11.86 billion (US$1.53 billion) privatisation bid for the company.

Goldin shares surged in resumed trading at 1pm on Wednesday following a suspension of trading on Tuesday at the request of the company.

Pan proposed to buy qualifying shares he does not already own at HK$9 apiece, according to a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

The offer represented a 36.8 per cent premium to Goldin’s closing of HK$6.58 per share on March 27, the final day of trade before the privatisation announcement.

If successful, Pan will need to pay HK$11.87 billion to acquire outstanding 37.59 per cent of the company’s issued shares, according to the statement.

The chairman already owns about 62.42 per cent of Goldin.

Goldin Properties has a strategic focus on the high-end property market in mainland China, with a portfolio of premium commercial, residential and hotel developments.

Its flagship Goldin Metropolitan project consists of Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club as well as luxury flats, offices and a convention centre in Tianjin. When finished the integrated project will have a total gross floor area of 1.89 million square metres.

In Hong Kong, sister company Goldin Financial in December won the development rights for a luxury residential project at the Ho Man Tin MTR station that may involve a HK$10 billion investment.

Forbes magazine ranks Pan as the 17th-richest person in Hong Kong with a net worth of US$4 billion as of March.

Goldin Properties shares ended 6.2 per cent higher at HK$8.37 in Hong Kong on Wednesday.