The barbarians at the gate have claimed a victory in the battle for control over China Vanke, the country’s largest retail property developer, after the company called off a deal to take on a new majority shareholder.
Shares in Vanke fell more than 6 per cent to HK$18.22 in Hong Kong on Monday morning after the home builder said on Sunday that it had dropped plans to sell some $7bn worth of shares to enlist Shenzhen Metro Group as a white knight in exchange for property assets.
Vanke found itself the target of China’s first high-profile hostile takeover nearly a year ago after little-known Baoneng Insurance increased its holdings in the developer to about 24 per cent.