not vested
China’s Hony Capital buys 2.5% more in Santos for $121.2m
November 11, 2016
Chinese private equity firm Hony Capital has acquired additional 2.5 per cent stake in Australian natural gas producer Santos Ltd. for about $121.2 million (A$159.2 million), Santos said on Friday confirming market speculation on sale of its shares.
The latest acquisition of shares by Hony Capital has increased its total shareholding in the Australian firm to 3.2 per cent.
“Santos has made inquiries with Hony Capital this morning who have confirmed that they were successful in acquiring an additional 40 million shares in Santos, increasing their interest in the company to approximately 3.2%,” the company said on its website.
The reported acquisition price represents an 11% premium to Thursday’s closing price of A$3.58, the company said.
Hony, which cornerstoned Santos’ $3 billion rights issue in 2015, sold its 11.7 per cent in the company to Chinese private gas distributor ENN for $750 million in March this year.
ENN, whose billionaire owner Wang Yusuo is understood to have been agitating for a board seat, may be working with the private equity firm, according to a report in The Australian Financial Review.
Hony is one of China’s most successful private equity funds whose backers include state-sponsored Legend Holdings, Singapore’s Temasek and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
Source: Deal Street Asia
http://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/58102-58102/