Exclusive-CK Hutchison weighs London, Hong Kong listing of global telco assets, sources say

By Kane Wu, Hadeel Al Sayegh, Amy-Jo Crowley and Elvira Pollina

HONG KONG/DUBAI/MILAN, Jan 20 (Reuters) – Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings is weighing listing its global telecommunications business in London and Hong Kong ‍as early as the third quarter after spinning it off from the group, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The company started preparations for the telco spin-off early last year after clearing all regulatory approvals for a $19 billion tie-up of its UK assets with Vodafone, Reuters reported at the time.

CK Hutchison, founded by Hong ‌Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, is eyeing London as a ‌primary listing venue and Hong Kong as a secondary venue for its telecoms businesses in Europe, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia that could be valued at around $20 billion, said the people.

CK Hutchison declined to comment.

The telco unit would be on the fast ​track to be included in London’s FTSE100 index, said one of the people.

However, a potential deal the company has also been exploring to merge ‍its Italian telecom unit Wind Tre with ​the Italian operations of French telecoms group Iliad, reported by ​Reuters in October, could pause the spin-off, a third and fourth person said.

There are ‍different views within the company about what direction to take, they said, with the third person adding that a decision could be made in the coming weeks.

Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank are working with CK Hutchison on the spin-off listing, two of the sources said, cautioning however that ‍plans are still fluid and the listing time could change.

The four sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is private.

Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and Citi also ‍declined to comment.

CK Hutchison ‍has been focusing on enhancing the group’s returns. Last year ​it announced a deal to sell most of its ​global ports ⁠business, including assets near the Panama Canal, for an ‌equity value of $22.8 billion to a BlackRock-led consortium.

The sale however has been progressing slowly due to complex regulatory clearance and China’s request to include a Chinese investor in the buyer group.

(Reporting by Kane Wu in Hong Kong, Hadeel Al Sayegh in Dubai, and Amy-Jo Crowley in London and Elvira Pollina in Milan. Editing by Anousha ⁠Sakoui and Jan Harvey)