Evergrande becomes fourth largest shareholder in Vanke

Caixin reports property developer Evergrande Group has become the fourth largest shareholder of leading home builder China Vanke Co., which is struggling to fend off a hostile takeover. Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd. spent 9.1 billion yuan to acquire Vanke’s stock on the secondary market and now holds 4.68% of the country’s largest residential property developer by sales as of August 4. This makes Evergrande the fourth largest shareholder of Vanke, behind Baoneng Group, with a one-fourths stake, China Resources (Holdings) Co. that has 15.3% and Anbang Insurance Group with 6.2%. The investment draws wide attention as investors wonder how it may affect the raging battle over who gets Vanke’s control rights, which has weighed on Vane’s stock price and bottom line.