CK Hutchison eyes small stake in OOIL

Cosco selling shares in parent company of OOCL in order to keep listing on Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

   A unit of the world’s largest operator of container ports, CK Hutchison Holdings, and other investors may purchase a small stake in Orient Overseas (International) Ltd. (OOIL) as part of COSCO Shipping’s acquisition of the Hong Kong-based company’s container carrier Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL).
   COSCO explained it plans to keep OOIL listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which will require 25 percent of the company to be held by shareholders other than COSCO.
   As part of its original acquisition plan, Shanghai Port Group (BVI) Development Co. has agreed to purchase 9.9 percent of OOIL. Depending on how many shares are tendered to COSCO by OOIL shareholders in the weeks ahead, COSCO will need another 15.1 percent to be held by other shareholders.
   In stock exchange filings Friday, COSCO Cosco explained that the following companies have agreed to purchase shares, as needed:
   • Crest Apex, a CK Hutchison subsidiary, will buy up to 4.99 percent of OOIL;
   • Rongshi International, a unit of a Chinese-government owned company State Development & Investment Corp., will buy up to 2.38 percent of OOIL;
   • And PSD Investco, a subsidiary of a Chinese company called Silk Road Fund, will purchase up to 7.73 percent of OOIL.
   COSCO also said it and OOIL “will together take all necessary steps, including … any accommodation and mitigation actions” to procure the approval or clearance by the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Reportedly, OOIL may be required to sell or put the Long Beach Container Terminal, which leases from the Port of Long Beach, into a trust.
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