HONG KONG, April 2 — Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp.’s US$5 billion (RM16.3 billion) offer for Hong Kong’s Wing Hang Bank Ltd. seems “fair on both sides,” according to Aberdeen Asset Management Plc, which owns at least 7 per cent of both companies.
OCBC’s strategy to expand its business in Greater China “seems sensible,” Hugh Young, a Singapore-based managing director at Aberdeen Asset, said by phone today. “We’re fairly relaxed about the whole thing. Only time will tell whether it’s a good deal.”
Southeast Asia’s second-largest lender offered HK$38.4 billion (US$5 billion) yesterday for Wing Hang, the largest takeover of a Hong Kong bank in 13 years. The purchase would allow the Singaporean bank more access to China-related business in the world's biggest offshore yuan trading centre.
Young declined to comment on whether Aberdeen, which oversees about US$310 billion worldwide, will accept OCBC’s offer. The Singaporean lender already agreed to buy shares amounting to a 2.5 per cent stake in Wing Hang from Aberdeen, OCBC said yesterday. Aberdeen owned 7 per cent in the Hong Kong bank as of March 26, according to a filing to the city’s Securities & Futures Commission.
The family of Wing Hang Bank’s Chairman Patrick Fung, Bank of New York Mellon Corp. and other investors holding a combined 50.66 per cent of the bank have accepted the offer, according to yesterday’s statement. OCBC’s offer of HK$125 for each Wing Hang share was a 1.6 per cent premium to the stock’s last traded price on March 28 before a trading halt.
The takeover would be the largest of a Hong Kong bank since DBS Group Holdings Ltd., OCBC’s largest competitor in Singapore, offered US$5.3 billion for Dao Heng Bank Group Ltd. in April 2001. — Bloomberg
