HSBC to Buy Out Hang Seng Unit for $14 Billion in Hong Kong Bet

HSBC Holdings Plc proposed taking its troubled Hong Kong subsidiary Hang Seng Bank Ltd. private in a deal representing a major bet on the Chinese financial hub. The British lender’s shares plunged.

London-based HSBC, which owns about 63% of Hang Seng, will spend about $14 billion buying the shares it doesn’t already hold. The HK$155 offer price, which values the unit at $37 billion, represents a 30% premium to Hang Seng’s closing share price on Wednesday.