Embattled China Vanke, hk 2202, has finally set a meeting to vote for a new Board, the current term having expired in March of 2017.
Source: Hk Filings, latest
Out: Wang Shi, Vanke founder, China Re Representatives & Blackstone. In: SZMC with equal representation to Vanke. The board also appears to have some new diversity with non-related representatives.
What’s Missing: Baoneng, Anbang.
The major reason for the delay in the new vote was to ensure Vanke executives maintain control, or at least split it with an entity of their choosing, despite their minority ownership interests. They’ve been aided in their quest from outside sources.
- China Re, which owned 15.3%, agreed to transfer them to Shenzhen Metro, SZMC.
- China Evergrande, 3333 hk, a competing developer which had been stockpiling shares, volunteered transferring its voting rights to SZMC.
- Evergrande officially sold the shares, at a loss to its original cost, to SZMC. (No, Evergrande isn’t a charity – they are pursuing a back-door listing in Shenzhen which will very possibly be aided by this gesture).
- Other heavy owner & tagged a barbarian, Baoneng, was prohibited from selling certain insurance products and its Chairman was prohibited from insurance for 10 years.
- Vanke started a lawsuit in February, 2017, to invalidate Baoneng’s shares based on its use of leveraged products to acquire them.
Despite all these visible moves, the fact remains that Baoneng still holds 25.4% of the company’s shares and would be assumed to have a legitimate reason to expect Board representation. The executives from Vanke’s side own a minor percentage of shares. Another insurance company, Anbang, also owns a significant amount of shares.
Source: HK filings
The June Meeting, Friday the 30th of June, should be an interesting one. Although the stock has been rising on the news, it’s still too early to know if the proposal will get the 2/3 majority needed.
prcequity 