Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi is quietly seeking to become the largest shareholder of a public firm listed in Hong Kong – a move that, if completed, could open the door for Huobi to go public via a reverse takeover.
According to shareholding disclosures filed by Pantronics Holdings on August 21 to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the public company is transferring more than 221 million of its ordinary shares to Li Lin, the chairman of Huobi Group, via several of the exchange’s subsidiaries.
With the disclosed amount, Li is poised to be the ultimate owner of 73.73 percent of Pantronics as the largest substantial shareholder. Based on the filing, the transaction is being priced at HK$2.72 (or $0.35) in average per share with a total amount nearing $77 million.
If the deal approved, it could give Huobi the opportunity to take over a public company and thus enter the secondary financial market – a process known as a reverse takeover.
Pantronics, an electronics manufacturing service provider established in 1990 and went public in 2016, has not yet made any official announcement regarding the completion of the deal, or any potential corporate restructure afterwards.
As reported by CoinDesk, Huobi is still waiting for confirmation and approval from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. As such, the company can’t comment on the issue at the moment.
Pantronics has halted the trading of its shares on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since August 22, “pending the release of an announcement relating to a possible offer to be made … on Takeovers and Mergers, which is inside information in nature,” the firm said at the time.
A Chinese media Gelonghui, that covers the financial market, first reported around 18:00 UTC on Monday that Pantonics had transferred 73.73% of its ownership to Li.
