Lifestyle popular after Egana deal
June 17, 2008
Analysts hung a "buyable" sign on Lifestyle International Holdings (1212) after shares of the department store operator resumed trading yesterday following an announcement it has finalized terms of a restructuring deal to acquire a majority stake in beleaguered EganaGoldpfeil Holdings (0048).
Lifestyle stock gained 5.85 percent to close at HK$14.12 yesterday after reaching an intraday HK$14.80. Some 7.3 million shares changed hands on turnover of HK$103 million.
Lifestyle, controlled by tycoon Joseph Lau Luen-hung, said it will pump in HK$1.21 billion to restructure luxury goods maker EganaGoldpfeil, whose shares remain suspended due to an alleged false accounting racket involving HK$3.55 billion, eight individuals and 18 banks.
"We have an overweight rating on Lifestyle even without [the] Egana deal and we believe [the] deal terms are positive for Lifestyle," JPMorgan analyst Ebru Sener Kurumlu wrote in a research note. On June 2, JPMorgan set a one- year target price for Lifestyle at HK$18.50 - a 31 percent premium over yesterday's close.
DBS analyst Mavis Hui has raised Lifestyle's target price to HK$21.25 from HK$21.19.
Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to "buy" from "hold."
Source: Dow Jones Newswire