The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
By Chan Ka Sing
HONG KONG, Jan 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The $110 bln insurer’s days of spinning off web-based ventures to help boost its value are long over. But a quirky special dividend is giving it back majority control of beaten-down but cash-rich Ping An Healthcare just as the online medical firm’s fortunes look set to improve.
Full view will be published shortly.
CONTEXT NEWS
Ping An Insurance will raise the stake in its medical-tech unit Ping An Healthcare & Technology from 39.41% to 52.74% as a result of special dividend scheme, the insurer said on Jan. 8. The company also said it has no plan to take private the Hong Kong-listed subsidiary.
On Nov. 14, Ping An Healthcare proposed a special dividend of HK$9.7 apiece, whereas shareholders could elect to receive in the form of shares.
(Editing by Antony Currie and Ujjaini Dutta)
((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on CHAN/ KaSing.Chan@thomsonreuters.com))
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