12/26/2008

Greentown China to buy stake in Japan's Pacific

TOKYO, Dec 26 - Greentown China Holdings Ltd is one of 10 Chinese property firms that will spend about 47 billion yen ($519.5 million) to effectively buy a controlling stake in Japanese real estate fund Pacific Holdings Inc, the Nikkei business daily reported on Friday.

The debt-ridden Japanese company said last month it would raise that amount by issuing common and preferred shares by February to several Chinese real estate firms, but it did not disclose any company names.

A Pacific spokesman could not immediately confirm the report.

Midsize Japanese real estate companies have been hit hard this year by a weak property market and tighter bank lending amid the credit crunch.

Shares of Pacific, which had seen a planned capital injection from brokerage Daiwa Securities Group fall through about three months ago, surged 10.4 percent to end at 10,600 yen following the report. [ID:nT311724]

Greentown and nine unlisted Chinese companies will indirectly purchase Pacific's preferred shares, which would account for 90 percent of voting rights if converted into common stock, the Nikkei said.

Greentown will purchase 15 percent of the preferred shares and another firm will buy 20 percent. The other companies will split the remaining shares nearly equally, the report said.

(Reuters)

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