Taishin will sell 266.7 million shares at NT$15 each to QE International Ltd., Bingo Lee, special assistant to Taishin Chairman Thomas Wu, said in a phone interview yesterday. QE is locked in as a shareholder for three years and won’t have a board seat, Lee said.

“Selling a stake at a discount will raise concerns among existing shareholders,” Kevin Yang, chief investment officer at Paradigm Asset Management Co., which manages US$360 million in assets, said in Taipei.

Taishin had spent five weeks looking for a partner for the NT$4 billion sale and said it would like to get the money by the year-end. According to local media reports, Taishin had talked with several parties, including a Europe-based insurance group with an interest in Taishin’s bank channel.

Local financial circles had expected the Soros fund to emerge as the winner as it would take longer time to discuss technical details with insurance groups. Plus, QE International will not take any seats on the board of directors, an agreement that meets one of Taishin’s conditions for sale.

Taipei-based Taishin plans to create Taiwan’s fifth-largest financial group by market value through a share swap merger with Chang Hwa Commercial Bank. Taishin’s shareholding in the bank is already enough to make Chang Hwa a legal subsidiary.

Taishin said on Oct. 31 that it planned a private placement of up to 222.2 million new shares at a tentative price of NT$18 apiece to “strengthen the financial structure” of the company.

Taishin shares fell 0.8 percent to close at NT$18.60 in Taipei yesterday before the company confirmed the share sale, while the benchmark TAIEX index slipped 0.4 percent.

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