On July 19th, Gelonhui announced that Deutsche Bank will propose a conditional voluntary cash offer on behalf of the company. After the conditions are met, it will repurchase up to a maximum amount of A ordinary shares for a cash price of HKD 9.11 per share of Class A ordinary shares (equivalent to USD 3.50 per American depositary share), i.e. 46.92 million shares of A ordinary shares (including in the form of American depositary shares), accounting for approximately 15.9% of the total issued and outstanding shares as of the date of this announcement.
The cash offer price per share of Class A ordinary shares of HKD 9.11 represents a premium of approximately 7.2% over the closing price per share of Class A ordinary shares on July 19, 2024. The cash offer price per American depositary share of USD 3.50 represents a premium of approximately 14.4% over the closing price per American depositary share reported on the New York Stock Exchange on July 18, 2024.
The company believes that the offer is in the overall best interests of the company, its shareholders and American depositary share holders, for the following reasons: (i) the offer will provide an opportunity for shareholders and American depositary share holders to realize part of their investment; (ii) the offer will enhance trading liquidity and refresh the company's shareholder structure; and (iii) the offer is the best use of the company's financial resources.
The company intends to maintain the listing status of Class A ordinary shares on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited and American depositary shares on the New York Stock Exchange. Assuming the offer is fully accepted, the company expects to meet the minimum public shareholding requirement of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited after completion of the offer. The company plans to continue operating its existing business after the completion of the offer. As of the date of this announcement, the company has no intention to make any significant adjustments to the existing operations and management structure of the group solely because of the offer, and will continue to employ the employees of the group, and the significant fixed assets of the group will not be reconfigured.