CARLYLE STAKE CLOUDS CHINA PACIFIC FLOAT
China Pacific, the mainland's third-largest life assurer, has entered a difficult round of talks with Carlyle Group, its biggest outside investor, over the structure of the US buy-out fund's shareholding following a planned $1bn flotation.
Carlyle last December paid $410m for a 25 per cent stake in the life assurance division of China Pacific, which also has a general insurance arm.
The two subsidiaries are to be included in China Pacific's listing of a quarter of its equity in Hong Kong during the second half of next year. The Shanghai-based insurer will today hold a “beauty parade” of investment banks, including UBS, JPMorgan and Credit Suisse.
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However, people with knowledge of the situation said a decision on the likely structure of China Pacific's listing was being complicated by the structure of Carlyle's investment.
China Pacific is negotiating with Carlyle to swap its holding for a smaller stake in the group structure. Talks are understood to be at an early stage, with no guarantee that Carlyle will agree to the change.
One person close to the affair said: “If there is no change to Carlyle's position before listing, its interests may not be aligned to those of the group. For instance, it might seek to use earnings to expand the life assurance arm, and not on dividends to investors.”
People close to the situation remain hopeful that China Pacific and Carlyle can reach an agreement but insist that the listing would proceed regardless.
The listing is being further clouded by a proposed $280m investment by Insurance Australia Group for a 25 per cent stake in China Pacific's general insurance arm. The deal is awaiting regulatory approval.
The flotation of state-owned China Pacific would be the latest in a number of listings of mainland financial services companies. Last month, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China raised a world record $21.9bn in a simultaneous listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
中国太平洋保险集团计划上市筹资10亿美元
中国太平洋保险集团(China Pacific)与其最大的外部投资者凯雷集团(Carlyle Group)展开了一轮艰难谈判，探讨在太平洋保险公司计划筹资10亿美元的上市完成后，该美国收购基金的持股结构。太平洋保险是中国大陆第三大寿险公司。
去年12月，凯雷集团以4.1亿美元购得太平洋保险旗下人寿保险公司25%的股份。
太平洋保险计划于明年下半年将四分之一的股份在香港上市，旗下的人寿保险和财产保险公司都将包括在上市资产中。这家总部位于上海的保险公司，将于今日对投资银行进行“选美”(beauty parade)，从中挑选上市承销商。参加的投行包括瑞银(UBS)、JP摩根(JPMorgan)和瑞士信贷(Credit Suisse)。
然而，知情人士表示，凯雷的投资结构，使太平洋保险的上市结构决策过程变得更为复杂。
太平洋保险正与凯雷集团谈判，希望凯雷将在太平洋寿险的持股，换成比例较小的太平洋保险集团股份。据信，谈判仍处于初期阶段，不能确保凯雷集团会同意这种交换。
一位知情人士表示：“如果在上市前，凯雷集团的地位不发生变化，那么凯雷的利益或许无法与太平洋保险集团的利益保持一致。例如，它可能会寻求将收益用于寿险公司的扩张，而不是向投资者派息。”
知情人士仍然期望双方能达成协议，但他们坚持认为，无论如何上市计划都会继续进行。
澳大利亚保险集团(Insurance Australia Group)以2.8亿美元收购太平洋财险25%股份的提议，使太平洋保险的上市变得更为复杂。此项交易目前正在等待监管部门的批准。
近来已有多家中国金融服务企业上市，中国国有企业太平洋保险的上市将是其中最新的一家。上月，中国工商银行(Industrial and Commercial Bank of China)在香港和上海同步上市，筹集资金219亿美元，创下世界纪录。
