Chinese retailer Suning's shares jump after stake sold to state investors

Shenzhen International Holdings

01/03/2021 08:29

BEIJING, March 1 (Reuters) - Shares in China's electric
appliance retailer Suning.com  002024.SZ  jumped by their daily
maximum limit of 10% on Monday, after it announced that
investors backed by the Shenzhen government will purchase a 23%
stake. 
    The retailer said in a stock exchange statement on Sunday
that Shenzhen International Holdings  0152.HK  and Shenzhen
Kunpeng Equity Investment Management had agreed to acquire the
stake at a proposed price of 6.92 yuan each, making the deal
worth 14.8 billion yuan ($2.29 billion).
    The deal comes amid rising concern over the liquidity of
Suning.com's parent company, which is also known internationally
as the majority shareholder of Italian Serie A team Inter Milan.
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    Suning.com last week said its billionaire founder Zhang
Jindong and its parent Suning Appliance Group planned to sell a
25% in the firm, without identifying to who. On Sunday,
Suning-owned Jiangsu FC announced that all of Suning Group's
football clubs would cease operations with immediate effect.
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    Shenzhen International, a logistics and infrastructure
facilities operator, said it will buy 8% of Suning.com shares
from Zhang and other stakeholders while Kunpeng Equity, a fully
state-owned strategic fund management platform under the
Shenzhen government, will buy a 15% stake in the firm. 
    The deal will cost Shenzhen International 5.15 billion yuan
and Kunpeng Equity 9.66 billion yuan to acquire the stakes
respectively, at the proposed price, the statements said. 
    Zhang will remain as the largest shareholder of the group
after the stake transfer despite his holding falling to 15.72%
from 20.96%.  
($1 = 6.4649 Chinese yuan renminbi)

 (Reporting by Sophie Yu and Brenda Goh;
Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
 ((Sophie.Yu@thomsonreuters.com; 861056692136;))