HONG KONG (Reuters) - Guotai Junan Securities Co Ltd (SS:601211), China's third-largest brokerage by assets, raised $2.1 billion (1.68 billion pounds) in a rare fixed-price share offering that was the biggest such sale in Hong Kong in six months, a source with direct knowledge of the deal said on Monday.
The Shanghai-listed company offered 1.04 billion new shares at a fixed price of HK$15.84 each, putting the total deal at HK$16.5 billion ($2.12 billion). The shares were originally offered at a discount of 25 percent to Guotai Junan's closing price in Shanghai on March 24, but a decline in the shares last week narrowed that discount to about 23 percent.
A fixed-price share offering is unusual, with most deals setting an indicative range before deciding on the final pricing, depending on demand.
Guotai Junan did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the share sale.