Li Ka-shing cranks it up with O2 bid

摘要

Asia's richest man, Li Ka-shing, is on an acquisition and borrowing binge as he sets about expanding his business empire barely a couple of weeks after announcing its reorganisation. His flagship hutchison whampoa is raising £6bn (US$9bn) through a loan to finance a proposed bid for Telefonica's British unit O2. Hutch is borrowing big to finance Li's move to consolidate his European telecommunications operations, which currently includes mobile outfit Three. The jumbo financing would be the group's largest loan and comes on the heels of another gargantuan borrowing - a HK$55bn (US$7.10bn) bridge facility from Cheung Kong Property Holdings, which will house the real estate assets of Li's group following the reorganisation and will be listed thereafter.