HNA Provided False Detail on Gategroup Bid, Says Swiss Regulator
- HNA failed to disclose ownership held by company executives
- Swiss Takeover Board orders Ernst & Young examination
A Swiss regulator has ruled that HNA Group Co., the acquisitive Chinese conglomerate facing widening global scrutiny of its overseas purchases, provided some false information and failed to disclose that company executives held the biggest stake in its takeover of Zurich-based Gategroup Holding AG.
The Swiss Takeover Board found HNA provided incorrect shareholdings for the top two stakeholders -- Bharat Bhise and Guan Jun -- in the Gategroup offer prospectus last year. Bhise and Guan acted as trustees holding the shares for HNA co-chairmen Chen Feng and Wang Jian, Chief Executive Adam Tan and three other people, according to the board. The executives had failed to disclose their ownership in HNA, the board said in a newsletter published on Friday.