BILLIONAIRE Wang Jianlin is facing hurdles in his buyout bid for Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co., which could be the biggest privatization Hong Kong’s ever seen, after a US$460 billion Dutch fund said the offer is too low.

    “We have concerns about the privatization plan” because the offer isn’t attractive, said Yoo-Kyung Park, a director in charge of corporate governance at APG Groep’s asset management arm. APG hasn’t made a decision on which way it will vote on the US$4.4 billion transaction, she said.

    Still, APG would make a profit from the deal if it sold out because it bought into the stock during its 2014 initial public offering. By contrast, BlackRock Inc. built up most of its holdings in Wanda Commercial in the second quarter of last year, when the stock peaked at HK$78, and stands to lose about HK$235 million (US$30 million) if Wang’s HK$52.80-a-share offer goes through.

    APG and BlackRock, which together own a combined stake of almost 12 percent, are key to the outcome of the proposal because the deal would collapse if even 10 percent of shareholders reject the offer. That would be a blow for Wang, who’s seeking to relocate Wanda Commercial’s listing to the mainland, where Asia’s second-richest man could fetch higher valuations and step closer to his goal of running a business empire with a market value of US$200 billion.

    BlackRock, the third-largest investor in Wanda Commercial’s Hong Kong shares, declined to comment on its potential losses and how it will vote. It held 44 million Wanda Commercial shares, or a 6.8 percent stake, as of last month. APG ranks sixth at almost 5 percent. (SD-Agencies)