2023-07-08 19:25:15
© Reuters.
Por Julie Zhu e Josh Ye
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Ant Group on Saturday announced a surprise share buyback valuing the fintech giant at $78.54 billion, well below the $315 billion announced in an abandoned 2020 IPO, in a move that may allow some investors to exit after a lengthy regulatory review of the company.
The news comes a day after the company was fined $984 million, which is expected to end a years-long regulatory overhaul by the company and mark a key step towards completing a crackdown on the country’s internet sector.
Ant said it had proposed to all of its shareholders to buy back up to 7.6% of its equity stake at a price representing a group valuation of approximately 567.1 billion yuan ($78.54 billion).
That’s a steep 75% discount off the $315 billion 2020 valuation for what would have been the world’s biggest IPO had it not been scuttled at the last minute by Chinese regulators.
“The repurchased shares will transfer to Ant Group’s employee incentive plans to attract talent. The repurchase proposal will also provide a liquidity option for the company’s investors,” he said.
Ant’s main shareholders, Hangzhou Junhan Equity Investment Partnership and Hangzhou Junao Equity Investment Partnership, voluntarily decided not to participate in the buyback, the company added.
Hangzhou Junhan and Hangzhou Junao are the entities that collectively hold more than 50% of Ant shares on behalf of the company’s executives and employees.
(Reportagem de Julie Zhu, Josh Ye, Brenda Goh, Zhang Yan and Scott Murdoch)
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