Mr Richard Li of PCRD is at it again

What is the deal now?
On Mar 3, 2007, Pacific Century Regional Developments was reported to have sold its 47.06% stake in PCI, its Hong Kong-listed insurance arm for HK$3.14 billion to Fortis Insurance International.

What is Edgar not sure of?
Back in Nov 2006, PCRD's shareholders were asked to approve the sale of 22.64% stake in PCCW for HK$9.2 billion. That deal was rejected by the minority shareholders.

He is said to be selling off his "unloved" assets in PCRD. So far, we note that he doesn't like telecom and insurance businesses.
What other "unloved" assets will he sell?
What is his "loved" assets anyway?
What is the true value of PCRD?
Can someone do the sums please?

Or is he the Richard Gere's movie character in Pretty Woman, where he buys company and strips it apart and sells them in pieces for a profit?

The biggest winner of the deal is Mr Li himself, of course. But he would have to share the fruits with the minority shareholders of PCRD, right?

Congratulations to Mr Li.

P/S - I still got no position in PCRD.

Mr Oei has struck another deal again!

P/S - Appreciate what we have.

The main players
- Mr Oei Hong Leong in International Capital Investment Ltd (ICIL), (formerly Jurong Engineering Ltd)
- TT International, which makes and sells the Akira range of electronic appliances

For a complete picture of the sequence of events of Mr Oei to date, see my previous posting.

What is the deal?
TT announced on Mar 1, 2007 that it was injecting its Akira assets, business and undertakings which it valued at $90 million into ICIL.

Upon completion of deal, TT would own 77% of ICIL while Mr Oei's stake would be reduced from 76% to 17%.

Issues to be considered:-
- The two shareholders would jointly owned 94% of ICIL. As free float of 10% of company's shares is required, divestment of shares is necessary to maintain listing status.

- How to justify valuation of Akira's business at $90mio? Ms Julia Tong, exec director of TT, cited Interbrand, a branding consultant, who had attributed a value of $49 million to the Akira brand back in 2005. TT is said to have grown and now sells in more than 60 countries. Of course, Mr Oei must have checked and considered the valuation as fair for him to give away 77% of a cash-rich company in ICIL.

What does the deal mean to each player?
TT - By focusing a brand and its business into a single vehicle, it is giving prominence to it. Hopefully translating to more business at next level. Back door listing format. TT will probably get some cash from divesting a few percent of ICIL shares.

ICIL - May have found a business to continue its listing status. As no cash payout is mentioned in this deal, the cash hoarding will provide plenty of ammunation to fund Akira's growth.

Mr Oei - He has bought himself into a growing business that is scalable very quickly and can be part of his China's experience.