Prysmian S.p.a.MIL: PRY

Italy's Prysmian completes divestment from China's YOFC to help fund Channell deal

· Issued by Prysmian S.p.a.

Italy's Prysmian MIL:PRY has completed its divestment from Hong Kong-listed Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable SSE:601869 with the sale of its remaining 5% stake, the group said in a statement on Tuesday.

The cable maker began divesting what had been a 23.7% stake in YOFC in April.

It is using the proceeds to help support its $1.15 billion acquisition of U.S. connectivity device manufacturer Channell Commercial Corp.

In its latest placement, the cable maker, through its subsidiary Draka Comteq, sold around 37.6 million H shares of YOFC for HK$47.10 ($6.05) each, for a gross consideration of HK$1.8 billion.

H shares refer to stock in mainland China's companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Prysmian has raised a total of around 550 million euros ($650 million) through the YOFC share disposal, which it completed in five tranches, according to a Reuters calculation.

The firm continues to operate in China through its local entity.

($1 = 7.7819 Hong Kong dollars)

($1 = 0.8466 euros)