Hong Kong-listed Guotai Junan International said on Friday it received a conditional take-private proposal from Guotai Haitong Securities, as the parent firm looks to streamline international operations following last year’s mega-merger.
The deal values the offshore unit at HK$28.59 billion ($3.64 billion), according to a filing on the Hong Kong stock exchange, and marks the latest step by the controlling shareholder to consolidate operations after the Guotai Junan-Haitong merger.
The merged firm has since overtaken Citic Securities as China’s largest brokerage by net assets.
Under the proposal, shareholders will receive HK$3 in cash for every cancelled share from Guotai Haitong Financial Holdings, the platform that holds Guotai Haitong Securities’ China operations. The company will subsequently be delisted from the bourse.
The offer price represents a premium of 44.2% to the company’s last close on July 23, before it went on a trading halt.
Privatisation allows public investors to exit an illiquid stock in bulk without causing downward pressure on market prices, Guotai Haitong said in the filing.
State-backed brokers Guotai Junan and Haitong Securities completed their share-swap merger in early 2025, in a landmark consolidation of China’s capital markets.
The deal saw Haitong delisted from the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges before the combined entity rebranded.
Guotai Junan International also said it has applied for its shares to resume trading on August 10.
Reuters
