Chinese Office Developer Shares Plunge 40 Percent After Blackstone Drops Acquisition

A Chinese man rides a tricycle past a billboard for the under-construction Wangjing SOHO complex by renowned architect Zaha Hadid in Beijing on Jan. 3, 2013. (Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images)

The share price of Beijing-based Soho China Ltd. plunged in Hong Kong trading on Sept. 13 after U.S. private equity giant Blackstone Group Inc. dropped a $3 billion takeover deal last week.

The commercial real estate developer, one of the largest in China, saw the biggest daily plunge in its stock price in the past 14 years.

It came after Blackstone withdrew its acquisition as preconditions were unable to be satisfied, Soho said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday, marking its second failed attempt at a sale.

The scrapped deal wiped about $830 million from Soho China’s market value as its Hong Kong-listed shares fell as much as 40 percent to HK$2.10 ($0.27) on Monday.

In June, Blackstone had offered HK$5 per share to buy all shares in the company, according to Soho China. The deal helped boost Soho China’s stock price dramatically from HK$2.45 on June 3 to HK$4.6 on June 17, an increase of nearly 88 percent.

The failed takeover came amid a sweeping regulatory clampdown from the Chinese regime across various industries, including investigating foreign investment, market competition, and monopolies.

Blackstone received a notification on Aug. 3 that the regime had begun an antitrust review into the deal, Soho China announced days later.

Reuters contributed to the report.