Guotai Haitong Proposes HK$3 Per Share Privatisation of Guotai Junan International
Guotai Haitong Financial Holdings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Guotai Haitong Securities, proposed a scheme of arrangement to privatise Guotai Junan International at HK$3.00 per share in cash, a 44.2% premium to the last closing price. The deal, valuing total consideration at about HK$7.5 billion, would make Guotai Junan International a wholly-owned unit and delist it from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, subject to shareholder and court approvals.
On August 7, Guotai Haitong Securities and Guotai Junan International Holdings Limited simultaneously announced that Guotai Haitong Financial Holdings Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Guotai Haitong Securities, proposes to privatise Guotai Junan International by way of a scheme of arrangement. Under the proposal, the cancellation price for scheme shares is HK$3.00 per share, payable entirely in cash. All outstanding share options will also be cancelled, with holders receiving corresponding cash compensation. Upon completion, Guotai Junan International will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Guotai Haitong and will apply to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for the cancellation of its share listing.
The privatisation price represents a premium of approximately 44.2% over Guotai Junan International's closing price of HK$2.08 before the suspension, and premiums of 46.5% and 37.7% over the average closing prices of the past 30 and 90 days, respectively. The company has approximately 9.53 billion shares in issue, of which Guotai Haitong Financial Holdings holds about 73.9%. The total cash consideration required for the privatisation is approximately HK$7.5 billion, which has been funded through external financing. The scheme is subject to several conditions precedent, including approval by independent shareholders, sanction by the High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and registration by the Companies Registry. Completion is therefore subject to uncertainties.
Guotai Junan International delivered record 2025 results, with total revenue of HK$6.23 billion, up 41% year-on-year, and after-tax net profit of HK$1.345 billion, up 287%. In 2025, the company sponsored seven initial public offering projects, raising a total of over HK$16 billion. Among these, it acted as sole sponsor for Jianqiao Technology, which set the record for the largest IPO in the communications equipment industry across the A-share and Hong Kong markets, and as joint sponsor for Hesai Technology, the largest China-concept stock return listing by fundraising since 2022.
Guotai Haitong was formed through the absorption merger of the former Guotai Junan Securities and Haitong Securities, and it owns two Hong Kong-listed brokerage platforms: Guotai Junan International and Haitong International. Haitong International completed its privatisation and delisting in January 2024 and is currently in a phase of risk resolution and business restoration. The privatisation of Guotai Junan International aims to integrate overseas business resources, improve management efficiency, resolve the business overlap and resource dispersion caused by the coexistence of the two platforms, and fulfil the commitment made during the merger to resolve horizontal competition among overseas subsidiaries within five years.