Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS have sold about US$2bn of China Mobile shares, a few weeks after the UK’s Vodafone sold its entire stake in the company.
According to IFR, the banks’ decision is the result of the US$6.5bn block sale failing to clear…
Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS have sold about US$2bn of China Mobile shares, a few weeks after the UK’s Vodafone sold its entire stake in the company.
According to IFR, the banks’ decision is the result of the US$6.5bn block sale failing to clear the market initially, and forcing a number of clean-up trades in the following days. It is reported that the stock was offloaded at a rate below its placement price of HK$79.20 (US$10.20).
In a previous report, IFR wrote that the three banks marketed 642.87 million China Mobile shares at an indicated price range of HK$79.20-HK$80, representing a discount of 2.4%-3.4% to the HK$82 close on September 7. But several fund managers were quoted as saying they were looking for HK$78 per share from the sale.
Vodafone sold its 3.2% stake in China Mobile for US$6.5bn, early September. Following the sale, Vodafone said it would begin a share buyback scheme for 70% of the proceeds with the remainder used to pay down debt.
