By Prudence Ho
HONG KONG--U.S. private equity firm Carlyle Group LP has raised
US$796 million by selling its remaining stake in China Pacific
Insurance (Group) Co. (2601.HK), a person familiar with the matter
said Tuesday, marking the end of a lucrative investment in the
Chinese insurer.
The private equity firm sold 203 million shares, or nearly 9% of
the insurer, at HK$30.30 each, the high end of an indicative price
range of HK$30.00-HK$30.30, the person said. The sale price was a
2.3% discount to China Pacific's closing price of HK$31.00
Monday.
The latest share sale brings total proceeds from Carlyle's China
Pacific investment to around US$5.2 billion.
Carlyle had invested a total of US$740 million in China Pacific
in 2005 and 2007.
The U.S. firm has conducted at least five share sales since
China Pacific held its initial public offering in 2009. Carlyle
last sold US$723 million of China Pacific shares in a placement in
July, slashing its holdings of the insurer's Hong Kong-listed
shares to 8.81% from 18.38%.
China Pacific is also listed in mainland China.
Goldman Sachs and UBS handled the sale.
Write to Prudence Ho at prudence.ho@wsj.com
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