Bank of East Asia takes 75% stake in FPB Bank

Bank of East Asia [23] announced on November 20 that it had struck a deal with the controlling shareholders of FPB Bank [717] to acquire their combined 75% stake. The 1.5 times book value price tag equates to HK$3.50 ($0.45) per FPB Bank share and is higher-than-expected. Bank of East Asia will also launch a general offer to acquire all the remaining shares at the same price.