Hong Kong-listed shares of Guotai Junan International surged 36% at their opening on Monday, following a proposal by its parent firm to take the company private.
Parent Guotai Haitong Securities offered a price on Friday that represented a premium of 44.2% to the company’s last close on July 23, before the offshore unit went on a trading halt.
The proposed deal valuing the unit at HK$28.59 billion ($3.64 billion), comes as the Shanghai-headquartered parent looks to streamline international operations after last year’s giant merger.
State-backed brokers Guotai Junan and Haitong Securities completed a share-swap merger in early 2025 in a landmark consolidation of China’s capital markets to became the country’s largest brokerage firm by net assets.
The deal saw Haitong delisted from stock exchanges in Shanghai and Hong Kong before the combined entity rebranded.
($1=7.8448 Hong Kong dollars)
Reuters
