A company controlled by Chinese private equity firm Hony Capital last night sold part of its stake in Hong Kong-listed CSPC Pharmaceutical, raising HK$1.2 billion $154 million.
While it didn’t spell it out directly, the sale is likely to have been prompted by a desire to convert some of its CSPC Pharma convertible bonds after the share price has rallied 80% this year. According to the conditions, the CB can only be converted into shares if the free-float remains above the required 25% and since the free-float is currently 25.2% Hony needed to reduce its existing holdings first.
The vendor offered to sell a 10.2%...