Overview
- HSBC, which owns about 63% of Hang Seng, proposed a cash scheme at HK$155 per share to acquire the remaining roughly 36.5% and delist the lender, valuing Hang Seng at about HK$290 billion.
- The offer, described as final and subject to dividend-adjustment rules, carries roughly a 30% premium to the prior close and about 33% to the undisturbed 30‑day average.
- The transaction will proceed via a Hong Kong scheme of arrangement requiring at least 75% shareholder approval and High Court sanction, with completion targeted in the first half of 2026.
- HSBC expects an initial hit of about 125 basis points to its CET1 ratio and said it will suspend new share buybacks for three quarters to restore capital to its 14.0%–14.5% target range.
- Hang Seng will retain its brand, licence, branch network and 11‑member board, as HSBC seeks efficiencies and fuller access to earnings against a backdrop of elevated property‑linked impaired loans.