SINGAPORE: Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd (OCBC) has offered to pay almost US$5bil for one of Hong Kong's last remaining family-owned banks, in a deal that would give the Singapore lender a much sought-after gateway to the Greater China region.
The deal to buy Wing Hang Bank Ltd was preceded by months of negotiations, with the deadline for an agreement extended not once, but twice. OCBC formally made the offer to purchase the Hong Kong-based lender after reaching a deal with major shareholders including the bank's founding family.