Tung family sells 5.6-percent shareholding in OOIL

Tung family sells 5.6-percent shareholding in OOIL    The Tung family, which controls Orient Overseas (International) Ltd., has agreed to sell a 5.61 percent shareholding in the company through UBS Investment Bank for HK$435 million ($56 million).
   The move is in line with the company’s obligation that the public owns at least 25 percent of its shares, and follows a recent increase in the Tungs’ shareholding above the 75 percent limit.
   Under the latest agreement, the Tung-owned company Wharncliff Ltd. will sell 29 million shares in OOIL, the parent company of OOCL, at HK$15 per share. The shares will be placed by UBS, appointed global coordinator and book-runner for the transaction. Completion of the placing will take place on Sept. 16.
   The sale will bring the Tung family’s shareholding in OOIL from 80.61 percent down to 74.44 percent.
   In August, OOIL repurchased 9.1 percent of its shares from Hutchison Whampoa, the Hong Kong-based telecommunications-to-port group, for HK$460.2 million ($59 million), at HK$9.80 per share. Prior to the repurchase agreement, the Tung family owned 73.29 percent of OOIL.