Shares in Dalian Wanda Group’s commercial property arm jumped by nearly a fifth on Thursday after its parent, owned by Wang Jianlin, China’s richest man, said it was considering privatising the company just 15 months after its $3.7bn listing.
Dalian Wanda Group is in the “preliminary phase” of considering a general offer for the Hong Kong-listed unit at not less than HK$48 a share — the price at which it floated -— the company said. That price represents a 23 per cent premium to the stock’s close on Wednesday and implies a market capitalisation of $28bn.
Wanda’s mixed-use mainland property developments form the bedrock of Mr Wang’s empire, which he has more recently been expanding into entertainment.