HONG KONG- Distressed developer China Evergrande will sell a half-stake in its property management unit to Hopson Development for more than $5 billion, Chinese media said on Monday, after both Evergrande and Hopson requested trading halts ahead of a major transaction.
Once China’s top-selling developer, Evergrande is facing what could be one of the country’s largest-ever restructurings as a crackdown on debt leaves it unable to refinance $305 billion in liabilities.
Evergrande said it requested a trading halt pending an announcement about a major transaction and Evergrande Property Services Group 6666.HK said the announcement constitutes “a possible general offer for shares of the company.”
China’s state-backed Global Times said Hopson Development was the buyer of a 51 percent stake in the property unit for more than HK$40 billion ($5.1 billion), citing unspecified other media reports. Hopson said it had suspended trading in its shares, pending an announcement related to a major acquisition of a Hong Kong-listed firm and a possible mandatory offer.
Both Hopson and Evergrande did not respond to requests for comment on the Global Times report.
