Ping An Insurance (601318.SH, 2318.HK) is planning to acquire an additional 32% stake in Shenzhen Development Bank (SDB, 000001.SZ) for US$4.27 billion in a private placement, the Wall Street Journal reported. The deal will give Ping An a controlling stake in SDB, having earlier raised its stake in the lender to 30% from 5%. Ping An, the country’s second-largest life insurer by premiums, said it would finance the deal with cash and its 91% stake in Ping An Bank. The insurer said in a statement that SDB "will take steps at an appropriate time to consolidate the two banks through ways that are in compliance with current regulations including, but not limited to, the merger of Ping An Bank into its operations." Ping An made its first advance on SDB last year when it bought Newbridge Capital’s stake in the south China lender.
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