萬科宣佈與深圳地鐵達成合作 China Vanke lines up rail deal amid ownership tussle

China Vanke, the property developer enmeshed in a high-profile takeover battle, said it planned to acquire a stake worth an estimated Rmb40bn-Rmb60bn ($6.2bn-$9.3bn) in Shenzhen Metro as part of a long-promised restructuring .

陷入高調大股東爭奪戰的地產商萬科(Vanke)表示，打算收購深圳地鐵集團(Shenzhen Metro Group)價值約400億至600億元人民幣的資產，此舉是爲了推行其長期以來承諾的資產重組。

The Shenzhen-based home builder — China’s largest by sales — announced the deal in a statement to the Shenzhen stock exchange on Sunday night. At the same time, it reported that 2015 net profit attributable to shareholders rose 15 per cent over the previous year to Rmb18.1bn, while revenues increased 34 per cent to Rmb195.5bn.

週日晚，這家中國銷售額最高的深圳地產商宣佈了這項交易。同時，萬科公告稱，2015年歸屬於股東的淨利潤同比增加15%，增至181億元人民幣，而營業額同比增加34%，增至1955億元人民幣。

Vanke, one of China’s best-known corporate brands, also said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Shenzhen Metro Group to take a stake in the urban transit company, and would fund the acquisition mainly by selling new shares to Shenzhen Metro with any shortfall to be covered in cash.

萬科還表示，已和深圳地鐵簽訂了一項諒解備忘錄，擬收購這一城市交通公司一定數量的股份，並向深圳地鐵發行新股票，用於支付此次收購金額的大部分，不足的部分以現金支付。

The size of the share sale and the stake to be acquired have yet to be decided and no formal deal has yet been signed, Vanke said in its statement to the stock exchange.

萬科在提交給深交所的聲明中表示，此次新股發行和收購股份的規模尚未確定，最終的協議也尚未簽署。

“This cooperation is a major breakthrough for Vanke’s asset restructuring,’’ Vanke said on its official WeChat account on Sunday. Shenzhen Metro is profitable and has strategic synergies with the developer, the developer said.

週日，萬科在官方微信上表示，“此次合作發佈，是萬科重組工作的重大突破。”萬科表示，深圳地鐵集團是國內有較強盈利能力的地鐵公司，並且和萬科之間存在着戰略協同性。

The transaction is pending approval from the board and shareholders, and Vanke’s Shenzhen-traded shares remain suspended. The company is scheduled to hold an extraordinary shareholder meeting on Thursday on its plan to keep its Shenzhen shares halted until completion of the asset restructuring plan.

這宗交易需等待萬科董事會和股東的批准，深交所的萬科股票仍在停牌中。萬科計劃週四召開一次特別股東會議，以批准其在資產重組結束前深市股票繼續停牌的方案。

Vanke said in December that it was planning a share sale, possibly as part of its defence in a battle for control with its largest shareholder, the obscure privately-held Chinese insurer Baoneng Group.

去年12月，萬科表示正準備發行新股，可能爲的是抵制寶能集團(Baoneng Group)奪取大股東地位。寶能是中國一家鮮爲人知的民營保險企業。

Sunday’s announcement broke three months of silence by Vanke, which suspended trading in its shares in Hong Kong in December saying it was working on “an asset restructuring”. Shares resumed trading in January, and were up 11.4 per cent at HK$20.40 on Monday morning.

週日的消息打破了萬科三個月以來的沉默。去年12月，萬科已正在實施“資產重組”爲由，暫停了H股股票交易。1月份，萬科H股恢復了交易，週一上午大漲11.4%，曾漲至20.4港元。

Baoneng has in recent months built a stake in Vanke that made it the developer’s biggest shareholder. Wang Shi, Vanke’s chairman, has attacked the stakebuilding as something that could “ruin” his company’s brand.

近幾個月來，寶能逐步買入了大量的萬科股份，成爲這家地產商的最大股東。萬科董事長王石抨擊了寶能的做法，認爲這可能“毀掉”他的公司的品牌。

The battle has also drawn in acquisitive mainland insurer Anbang. Anbang raised its shareholding in Vanke from 4.5 per cent to 7 per cent late last year and Vanke has said it would welcome Anbang as an investor.

這場股權爭奪也吸引了頻繁發起收購的內地保險企業安邦(Anbang)的興趣。去年末，安邦把所持萬科股份由4.5%提高至7%，萬科表示歡迎安邦成爲重要股東。

“Everyone with discerning eyes in the industry knows that this [the Shenzhen Metro deal] is Vanke’s way to counter Baoneng,” said Deng Haozhi, chief analyst at Guangzhou-based property developer Fineland. Analysts said the move could be aimed at diluting Baoneng’s share in Vanke, which stood at 24.26 per cent at the end of last year, according to Vanke’s annual report.

“每個眼睛雪亮的人都知道，這筆（與深圳地鐵合作的交易）是萬科用來對抗寶能的一種方法，”廣州開發商方圓地產(Fineland)的首席分析師鄧浩志表示。分析師們表示，此舉可能旨在稀釋寶能所持的萬科股份。根據萬科年報，去年底寶能對萬科的持股比例爲24.26%。

The public ownership fight at China Vanke has intrigued investors because Chinese companies typically prefer to resolve such disputes behind closed doors.

這場公開的萬科大股東地位爭奪戰激起了投資者的好奇心，因爲中國企業通常更傾向於關起門來解決此類爭議。