UPDATE: Allianz, Amex Sell Down ICBC Stakes For US$1.91 Billion
April 28 2009 - 12:28AM
Dow Jones News
Allianz SE (AZ) and American Express Co. (AXP) said Tuesday they
sold half the shares they own in Industrial & Commercial Bank
of China Ltd. (1398.HK) in a private placement, raising a total of
US$1.91 billion.
In a joint statement with China's largest bank by assets,
Allianz said it sold 3.22 billion shares and American Express said
it sold 638 million shares. The two companies sold down their
stakes as soon as the lockup on the ICBC shares expired
Tuesday.
Allianz and American Express didn't specify the terms of the
sale, saying only that they sold to "a select group of
investors."
The shares were sold at HK$3.86 each, or a discount of 4% to
ICBC's Monday closing price of HK$4.02, a person familiar with the
situation said Tuesday. ICBC shares were up 2.7% at HK$4.13 at 0349
GMT.
"The overhang brought on by possible stake selldowns should be
over for now," said Kenny Tang, an executive director with Redford
Securities. "After all, the stakes are pretty small."
Allianz still has a 0.97% stake in ICBC, and American Express
holds 0.2% after the sale. The lockup period for those shares will
end Oct. 20.
The sale has been well anticipated by the market. Another person
familiar with the situation said Friday Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
(GS) was appointed sole bookrunner for the deal, and institutional
investors said the U.S. investment bank was sounding out buyers
late last week, offering a tight single-digit discount to the
bank's share price.
Bookbuilding for the ICBC shares lasted overnight, with books
closing around 2000 GMT Monday, the first person said.
Goldman Sachs is also a strategic investor in ICBC. It has a
4.9% interest, and 20% of that stake isn't subject to a lockup
anymore. But the first person said last week the investment bank
has no plans to sell in the short term.
At ICBC's annual results press conference in Hong Kong late
March, Goldman Sachs pledged a new share lockup commitment. It said
it won't sell 80% of its ICBC shares before April 28, 2010. But
that leaves open the sale of the remaining fifth of that stake, or
3.3 billion shares, which could be worth about US$1.8 billion at
current prices.
-By Amy Or, Dow Jones Newswires; 852-2832-2335;
amy.or@dowjones.com