PCCW seeks HK$8.53 billion from sale of share stapled units in HKT Trust and HKT Ltd
Proceeds will be used for media and information-technology service businesses, new strategic investments and repayment of debt
PCCW, the flagship company of tycoon Richard Li Tzar-kai, and subsidiary CAS Holding No 1 aim to sell HK$8.53 billion worth of share stapled units in HKT Trust and operating arm HKT Ltd, Hong Kong’s largest telecommunications service provider.
The transaction involves the disposal by Wednesday of 11.1 per cent of HKT’s share stapled units in issue that are held by CAS, according to separate regulatory filings on Monday by PCCW and telecommunications subsidiary HKT.
Shares of PCCW declined 5.97 per cent to HK$4.57 while HKT fell 7.4 per cent to HK$10.26 at the close of Monday’s trading.
Goldman Sachs, the placing agent, will sell 840.75 million HKT share stapled units at HK$10.15 each, representing an 8.4 per cent discount to HKT’s closing price of HK$11.08 on February 10.
Stapled securities generally refer to an arrangement under which different securities of an issuer are listed on the basis that these are legally bound together and cannot be transferred or traded separately. There is only a single price quotation on the Hong Kong stock exchange for stapled securities and no price quotation is given for individual components that form these securities.
Other locally listed companies that trade in share stapled units are Hongkong Electric and Jinmao (China) Investment Holdings.