Shenyang Shengjing Financial Holding, a state-backed investment group, has increased its privatisation offer for Shengjing Bank to HK$1.60 per share.
The company initially offered HK$1.32, as detailed in a Hong Kong exchange filing.
The revised offer for Shengjing Bank’s Hong Kong-listed shares comes after Shenyang Shengjing Financial previous bid valued the regional lender at HK$11.61bn ($1.49bn), reported Reuters.
Shenyang Shengjing, which is under the majority ownership of the Shenyang Municipal Government’s Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, is the primary shareholder of Shengjing Bank, holding a combined stake of approximately 37.23% with its affiliates.
Additionally, the bid for Shengjing Bank’s domestic shares has been raised to 1.45 yuan, up from the earlier 1.2 yuan.
The firm has stated that this offer is final and that there are no plans to further revise the bid, reported Bloomberg.
Shengjing Bank has faced challenges due to its previous association with the Evergrande Group, which is set to delist from the Hong Kong stock market, the news publication noted.
Evergrande, once the largest shareholder in Shengjing Bank, has been divesting assets to manage its debts.
In response, state-owned entities from the Liaoning province intervened to protect the financial system, acquiring Evergrande’s stake in Shengjing Bank through court-ordered auctions and increasing their own shares in the bank.
In 2021, as Evergrande sought to alleviate its debt crisis, it announced the sale of a $1.5bn stake in Shengjing Bank.
Shenyang Shengjing Finance Investment Group stepped in to purchase 1.75 billion domestic shares of the lender.
By September 2022, government-backed entities had secured Evergrande’s stake in the bank via an auction.
In 2023, Shengjing Bank agreed to a significant sale of credit assets to the province’s asset management company.
The bank’s financial health has seen a marked decline since its peak in 2019, with 2024 revenues and net profits falling drastically, the report said.
As of the end of 2024, Shengjing Bank reported having 1.12 trillion yuan in assets, it added.
