Finally at the finish line: OCBC launches compulsory acquisition of Wing Hang Bank

It now owns 97.52% of Wing Hang.

OCBC has finally won the long battle for Wing Hang Bank. After a standoff which involved one of America’s largest hedge funds, OCBC today revealed that it now owns 97.52% of Wing Hang Bank.

In a statement, OCBC stated that it will now be exercising our right under the Hong Kong Companies Ordinance to compulsorily acquire all those Wing Hang Bank shares not acquired under the voluntary general offer (VGO), which has already closed.

On completion of the compulsory acquisition process, WHB will become a wholly owned subsidiary of OCBC and an application will be made for the delisting of WHB shares from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

According to Samuel Tsien, Group CEO of OCBC, “We are very pleased with the outcome. We will now work through the required process to take full ownership of Wing Hang Bank. Integrating the operations and businesses of Wing Hang Bank with OCBC will now pick up speed. Wing Hang Bank gives OCBC more access in the Greater China region; we can offer a wider selection of services to Wing Hang Bank’s customers as well as to Chinese companies expanding into Singapore and Southeast Asia, where we have a dominant presence. Including Wing Hang Bank’s network of 70 branches spanning Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China, OCBC has a total of 88 branches in the Greater China region, particularly across southern China’s Pearl River Delta.”