HSBC has made a HK$106bn ($13.6bn) offer to buy out minority investors in Hong Kong lender Hang Seng Bank as it presses ahead with a restructuring plan.
Europe’s largest bank has offered HK$155 a share, a 30 per cent premium over Hang Seng’s closing price on Wednesday, to take the unit fully private and delist its Hong Kong-listed shares. The all-cash deal values Hang Seng at HK$290bn.
HSBC’s share price was down as much as 7.3 per cent by mid-morning in Hong Kong after it said it would not make share buybacks for the next three financial quarters in order to generate the cash needed for the deal. HSBC shares were also down more than 6 per cent in morning trading in London, making it the biggest FTSE 100 faller.