Tag Archives: Orient Securities

IPOs: CR Pharma, Orient Securities Eye $1 Bln IPOs, Wanda Hits Resistance

Bottom line: Orient Securities IPO shares will debut flat due to weakness in China’s stock markets, CR Pharma will price stronger on good prospects for drug makers, and Wanda Commercial will have to raise its privatization buyout price.

CR Pharma files for HK IPO

After a quiet first half of the year, big IPOs for Chinese companies are suddenly coming to life in Hong Kong, though the outlook isn’t particularly strong. The latest headlines have China Resources Pharmaceutical filing for a $1 billion offering that was first mooted back in February, while the second has Oriental Securities pricing its own $1 billion offering near the bottom of its range. Meantime, a privatization bid for the Hong Kong-listed Wanda Commercial Properties (HKEx: 3699) has hit a stumbling block, with word that a major investor has objected that the buyout price is too low. Read Full Post…

IPOs: Postal Bank, Orient Securities Line Up for Listings

Bottom line: A new IPO from Postal Savings Bank will price and debut strongly thanks to its conservative stance, while another offering from Orient Securities could also do moderately well due to its small size.

Postal Bank set for mega-IPO in HK

Two financial institutions are lining up to launch IPOs in Hong Kong this week, led by what’s likely to be the biggest offering this year by China’s stodgy Postal Savings Bank, whose listing could raise up to $8 billion. In a far smaller deal, brokerage Orient Securities is also set to announce a HK$1.15 billion ($174 million) IPO deal as soon as today, in what looks like a slightly desperate bid for cash following its much larger Shanghai listing last year at the height of China’s stock market boom. Read Full Post…

FINANCE: Minsheng’s $1 Bln HK Brokerage Buy Near Collapse?

Bottom line: Minsheng Bank’s $1 billion deal to buy Quam could be on the brink of collapse, the victim of rapidly tumbling sentiment towards Chinese and Hong Kong brokerages amid China’s stock market sell-off.

Minsheng’s HK brokerage buy on brink of sinking?

What a difference a year makes. At this time last year stock brokers in China and nearby Hong Kong were a hot ticket, attracting billions of dollars as investors bet on their huge growth potential tied to booming stock markets in both places. But that enthusiasm has quickly evaporated as China’s stock markets undergo a massive correction, which may be a major factor behind the sputtering of a major acquisition in the space.

The deal I’m referring to is the previously announced purchase of Hong Kong brokerage Quam (HKEx: 952) by Minsheng Bank (HKEx: 1988; Shanghai: 601988), China’s oldest privately owned bank. Minsheng has just announced that a deadline for it to close the Quam investment, worth nearly $1 billion, has passed without closure, hinting the deal may be on the brink of collapse. Read Full Post…

IPOs: Privatization Wave: A House of Cards?

Bottom line: An ongoing wave of buyout offers for US-listed Chinese firms is being funded by speculative money that will quickly evaporate when China’s stock market rally fizzles, causing some deals to collapse when that happens.

Gamblers fund privatization wave

It’s a new day, which means it’s time to take a look at the latest US-listed Chinese companies receiving privatization offers from opportunistic investors looking for bargains. Today it’s data center operator 21Vianet (Nasdaq: VNET) and beleaguered social networking site (SNS) operator Renren (NYSE: RENN) that are headed for the exit door.

I’ve been writing about this recent flurry of privatizations for the last few months, which is quickly turning into a flood as investors scramble to assemble deals to buy companies whose shares have languished on Wall Street. The idea is that these companies would be far more appreciated, and therefore get much higher valuations, from investors in their home China market, where an ongoing stock market rally has seen the main Shanghai index more than double over the last year. Read Full Post…

IPOs: Fous Media Injects, Legend Looms, Taomee Bows

Bottom line: Legend Holdings is likely to get a tepid reception for its new shares that could start trading by month’s end, while Focus Media is also likely to complete its backdoor listing in Shenzhen in that time frame.

Focus Media comes home to list

A new IPO, a backdoor listing and a buyout offer are all in the news today in Hong Kong, China and New York, spotlighting an emerging dynamic that is seeing Chinese companies abandon US listings for offerings closer to home. The choice of Hong Kong instead of China for the upcoming IPO by Legend Holdings, parent of PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992), also reflects the difficulties that private Chinese companies continue to face when trying to list at home in Shanghai or Shenzhen.

China’s 2 main domestic stock markets have traditionally favored big state-owned companies, a big factor that prompted Legend to look to Hong Kong where it will meet with local stock exchange officials this week in the run-up to its looming IPO. At the same time, outdoor advertising specialist and formerly New York-listed Focus Media has just taken a major step towards a re-listing in China by injecting itself into a Shenzhen-listed firm. Last on our list is children’s website Taomee (NYSE: TAOM), which has just become the latest New York-listed Chinese firm to receive a privatization offer due to undervaluation. Read Full Post…

IPOs: China Mobile Games Joins Homeward Migration

Bottom line: China Mobile Games could be combined with Shanda Games if buyouts for the 2 companies succeed, followed by a re-listing in China that could gain strong interest from local investors.

China Mobile Games joins de-listing queue

The latest news that China Mobile Games (Nasdaq: CMGE) has received a buyout offer won’t surprise anyone, as it becomes the latest New York-listed Chinese Internet firm to receive such a bid due to its low valuation. What does come as a slight surprise is investor reaction to the bid, which saw China Mobile Games’ share price drop to well below the offer price. The could reflect some skepticism about the quality of this particular bid, which is coming from a Chinese securities brokerage.

This deal marks the latest in a long string of similar buyouts for US-listed Chinese firms whose shares have often languished in New York due to lack of interest from western investors who are unfamiliar with these names. Many of the companies are eying quick re-listings in their home China market, where they believe they can get valuations that are as much as double what they were worth in New York. Read Full Post…

INTERNET: The End Finally Nears For Shanda Games

Bottom line: Shanda Games is likely to close its privatization by next month, as group founder Chen Tianqiao finishes dismantling his entertainment empire to try a possible new career in private equity.

De-listing looms for Shanda Games

The long and tortured privatization Shanda Games (Nasdaq: GAME) could finally be near, with word that a group bidding for the faded online gaming giant has finalized its funding for a $1.9 billion buyout. If and when this buyout finally closes, it will mark the end of a privatization bid that began more than a year ago. That would easily make it the most drawn out such buyout among about a dozen major Chinese companies that have left New York over the last 2 years due to lack of interest from investors. Read Full Post…

INTERNET: Shanda Sells Literature To Tencent, Games To Brokers

Bottom line: New developments in the break-up of Shanda Group are likely to result in the successful sales of its games and literature units in the next 6 months.

Cloudary pools resources with Tencent literarture

The slow-motion break-up of former online entertainment superstar Shanda Group continues in 2 different headlines, with word that its core online literature and gaming businesses are set to be taken over by Internet giant Tencent (HKEx: 700) and a couple of major brokerages, respectively, in separate deals. Both of these deals look quite exciting, as they involve the entry of serious-looking buyers who could ultimately use their acquired Shanda assets to create some interesting and potentially competitive new companies in their respective spaces. Read Full Post…

IPOs: Brokerages Still Hot As Orient IPO Charms Investors

Bottom line: Orient Securities IPO should price and debut strongly on strong sentiment towards brokerages, which should perform well over the short- to medium-term if China’s broader economy continues to slow.

Orient Securities IPO draws strong interest

Despite new uncertainties about their future, Chinese brokerages continue to remain a hot ticket as investors bet they’ll benefit from a booming domestic stock market and new business from a pilot program allowing more foreigners to buy Chinese stocks. That’s my assessment following word that the biggest domestic IPO since 2011, from Orient Securities, has been massively oversubscribed by a factor of more than 90. Put another way, some $150 billion worth of investor money is chasing the $1.6 billion offering, meaning barely 1 in 10 investors will be able to get any shares. Read Full Post…