Times shares jump in Hong Kong after sale to Lotte

"Times shares jump in Hong Kong after sale to Lotte | AboutHK.Com - More Information About HK"

Chris Oliver, MarketWatch Shares of Chinese supermarket group Times Ltd. traded sharply higher in resumed Hong Kong trade midday Monday, after the company agreed to be acquired by South Korea's Lotte Shopping Co. in a deal worth 4.87 billion Hong Kong dollars ($629 million). Lotte /quotes/comstock/11i!losp.f (LOSP.F 0.00, 0.00, 0.00%) offered, via its Hong Kong unit, 5.575 Hong Kong dollars apiece for Times' /quotes/comstock/22h!e:1832 (HK:1832 5.33, +0.03, +0.57%) 873.9 million outstanding shares, the two companies said Tuesday in a joint statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The price was a 20% premium to Times' level of 4.64 Hong Kong dollars, prior to its trading halt on Oct. 12. The deal is subject to approval by regulators and the Times' minority shareholders. Times' shares ended midday at 5.31 Hong Kong dollars, a rise of 14.4%, after earlier rising by as much as 17.7%. Shares of Lotte Shopping were up 3.8% in Seoul. The deal, which will see Lotte add a chain of 53 hypermarkets and 12 supermarkets to its China operations, has the backing of Times Chairman Kenneth Fang, whose family controls a 72.3% stake in the company.