A lawyer acting in one of the biggest go-private transactions for Hong Kong in a decade says the deal may mark a trend for regional players who are beginning to follow China’s go-private lead.
Malaysian conglomerate Hong Leong Group subsidiary GuoLine Overseas’ proposed acquisition of investment company Guoco Group marks the second-largest privatisation of a Hong Kong-listed company in more than 10 years.
John Melia, a corporate partner at Appleby in Hong Kong, told China Business Law Journal that drivers for going private may differ between Chinese and Southeast Asian companies, but “the one thing they’ve probably got in common is that these shareholders who are taking private think their stock prices are undervalued”.
