ecause the securities regulator hasn't yet approved its sale of a stake to Carlyle Group and a partner. Ta Chong shares fell. The election may not occur at a Oct. 31 shareholder's meeting, James Chiou, executive vice president of the Kaohsiung, Taiwan-based bank, said in a telephone interview yesterday. It may have to be postponed until the Financial Supervisory Commission approves the acquisition so Carlyle and Cayman Islands-registered Gable Partners II LP can participate, he said.
Carlyle, the Washington, D.C.-based buyout firm, is teaming up with Gable to invest NT$21.5 billion in Ta Chong, Susan Chang, vice chairwoman of the commission, said Sept. 17.
She declined to comment on how long the approval process may take when contacted by phone yesterday.
The acquisition hasn't been cleared because regulatory officials are concerned Carlyle and Gable are borrowing money from local banks for the investment and not using their own money, the Taipei-based Commercial Times reported yesterday, without citing anyone.
Ta Chong shares fell 2 percent to NT$12.25 at the 1:30 p.m. close in Taipei yesterday, while the benchmark TAIEX index slipped 0.1 percent.
Chang denied that the commission is worried about the Carlyle funding. Carlyle, which manages about $76 billion worldwide, and Gable initially proposed remitting 40 percent of the money for the investment into Taiwan while borrowing the rest from banks, she said.
"If any changes are within reason, we'll respect their choices," she said.
