Hutchison’s HK$25 bonus is key to 15% vote by minorities to back US$23 billion BlackRock deal
The threshold is low, because Li and his elder son Victor control 30.43 per cent of Hutchison – almost 24 per cent of that in a trust under the name of the nonagenarian tycoon and the balance in a string of nominee companies – while BlackRock held 4.84 per cent as of a March 12 filing.
The deal, called a “very substantial disposal,” needs the support of 50 per cent of eligible shareholdings in a specially arranged shareholder meeting, according to Chapter 14 of Hong Kong’s listing rules.
“Li’s family, as the largest shareholder, can vote in the shareholders’ meeting” because the sale is not a connected transaction between related parties under the listing rules of the Hong Kong stock exchange, where Hutchison’s shares are listed, said Kenny Tang Sing-Hing, the chairman of the Hong Kong Institute of Financial Analysts and Professional Commentators.
BlackRock is also eligible to vote, said Zoey Zhou, a credit research analyst at CreditSights, adding that a 15 per cent shortfall “is not hard” to overcome, “given the potential of shareholder rewards from the transaction.”
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