Shin Kong shareholders approve merger plan with Taishin to become Taiwan's largest financial firm (updated)

TS Financial Holding Co

09/10/2024 07:00

(Recasts; Adds Shin Kong chairman's comments in paragraph 3, 7)
    By Faith Hung
       TAIPEI, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Shin Kong  2888.TW 
shareholders voted on Wednesday to approve a merger with Taishin
Financial by a wide margin, with over 70% estimated to have
voted in favor of the deal.  
    If approved by Taiwan's financial regulators, it will be the
largest ever merger deal in Taiwan's financial services sector. 
    "We're making financial industry history with this
consensual merger," Shin Kong chairman Mark Wei told reporters
after the ballots were tallied.  
    In August, CTBC  2891.TW  threw a wrench into Taishin's
proposed deal with Shin Kong by making its own bid for a
majority stake in Shin Kong. It subsequently withdrew its offer
after failing to receive regulatory approval for the acquisition
from Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC).  
    Shin Kong leadership had expressed a preference for the
merger with Taishin over the offer from CTBC, a sentiment echoed
by the shareholders in Wednesday's vote.
         In denying approval for CTBC's competing bid, the FSC
said it still encourages "benign" financial industry mergers and
acquisitions that respect market order.  
        The regulator's next step will be to decide if the deal
between Taishin and Shin Kong meets those criteria, but Wei
expressed confidence in the process.  
    "Our discussions with the financial regulators are going
smoothly," the chairman said, adding that merger implementation
discussions between the two companies are also going well.

 (Reporting by Faith Hung; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by
Christian Schmollinger and Lincoln Feast.)
 ((ben.blanchard@thomsonreuters.com;))