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Jack Ma, founder of the Alibaba Group attends the 2017 forum on rural headmasters on July 12, 2017 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province of China.
“This transaction is a milestone step of Yunfeng FG becoming a financial conglomerate, integrating its existing fintech focused financial services with traditional insurance business,”
said Yu Feng, chairman of Yunfeng.
Yunfeng will pay MassMutual $1 billion in cash and 800 million shares valued at HK$6.50 apiece, the companies said in a statement late on Thursday.
Yunfeng’s shares were 22 percent higher at HK$7.73 in early trade after soaring as much as 30 percent.
MassMutual Asia has two main units — one manages general insurance business, while the other focuses on the Mandatory Provident Fund business, a compulsory pension plan for the retirement of residents in Hong Kong.
Reorient Financial Markets, a wholly-owned unit of Yunfeng and JPMorgan acted as Yunfeng’s financial advisors on the deal, while Citigroup advised MassMutual International, the statement
said.