Stocks rebound as money unlocked from IPOs

    CHINA’S stocks gained for a second day yesterday, aided by liquidity unlocked from recent initial public offerings (IPOs), as some investors took advantage of last week’s market collapse to buy relatively cheap shares.

    The CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen was up 1.96 percent at 4,880.13 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.48 percent to 4,690.15 points. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 1.73 percent to 2,822.73. Stocks rose across the board, with transport and infrastructure firms leading the charge.

    Gome to buy Beijing retail chain operator

    GOME Electrical Appliances Holding Ltd. plans to buy Beijing Dazhong Home Appliances Retail Co. for 3.83 billion yuan (US$617 million), formalizing its control of a company it has been managing for around eight years.

    Gome will buy the whole of Beijing Dazhong from Beijing Zhansheng Investment Co. in a deal set off against a 3.6 billion yuan loan previously extended to Beijing Zhansheng, with the remainder paid in cash. Gome in 2007 provided a 3.6 billion yuan loan to Beijing Zhansheng, under which it had the option to acquire the entire equity interest in Dazhong at any time.

    Chat app Momo gets buyout offer from CEO

    MOMO Inc.’s chief executive and a group of investment firms offered to buy all shares of the Chinese mobile chat app company they do not already own for US$1.9 billion, six months after the company listed in the United States.

    Momo, which helps users find friends based on locations and exchange messages, pictures and videos, is the latest in a string of Chinese tech companies that have received proposals to drop their U.S. listings and take them private. Momo’s CEO, Yan Tang, and the buyout consortium already own about 47 percent of the company, with an aggregate voting power of about 84 percent. The offer values the company at US$3.6 billion.

    China Merchants Securities plans HK listing

    CHINA Merchants Securities Co. plans to raise up to US$5 billion in a Hong Kong initial public offering in the fourth quarter, in what could be one of the year’s top listings globally.

    The Shenzhen-based company has moved in for a listing quickly: it called in bankers to pitch for its planned Hong Kong float a few weeks ago and is looking to list before the end of the year.