BRIEF: Ping An Healthcare controlling shareholder makes share offer, says no plans for privatization

Online healthcare platform Ping An Healthcare (1833.HK) announced on Tuesday evening that its controlling shareholder, Ping An Insurance (2318.HK; 601318.SH), has offered to buy all of the company’s shares under a recently triggered stock exchange requirement. Ping An Insurance offered HK$6.12 per share, representing a discount of 2.86% to the stock’s closing price on Tuesday. The total offer is valued HK$13.23 billion ($1.7 billion).

After becoming profitable, Ping An Healthcare last November announced ahuge dividend worth HK$10.85 billion, or about 80% of its available funds. Shareholders could choose to receive the dividend in cash or new shares. Following that distribution, Ping An Insurance’s total shareholding was set to rise from 39.41% to 52.74%, requiring it to make a mandatory general offer for all shares in accordance with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s rules.

Following the dividend distribution, Ping An Healthcare became an indirect non-wholly owned subsidiary of Ping An Insurance. The parent company intends for Ping An Healthcare to continue its existing core business operations and has no plans to redeploy fixed assets or terminate the employment of its staff. Furthermore, the parent said it does not intend to privatize Ping An Healthcare.

By Lee Shih Ta

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