One Investor Makes a Quick $582 Million in Evergrande Fire Sale

(Bloomberg) — The buyer of China Evergrande Group’s stake in HengTen Networks Group Ltd. is sitting on a paper profit of $582 million after the shares surged in the wake of the sale.

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Li Shao Yu agreed on Nov. 17 to buy Evergrande’s 18% stake in the internet services firm for HK$2.13 billion ($273 million) at the discounted price of HK$1.28 a share. The stock has since rallied almost 140% to about HK$4. That values her stake at HK$6.67 billion.

Struggling developer Evergrande is scrambling to raise funds to meet bond payments and avoid default. Recent public efforts include the HengTen divestment, a share placement by the company’s electric-vehicle unit and the reported sale of two private jets. Hong Kong clearing data showed founder Hui Ka Yan may have pledged a stake worth $1 billion in Evergrande last week.

Li is the ultimate owner of Allied Resources Investment Holdings Ltd., which agreed to acquire the shares, according to Evergrande’s statement last week. Evergrande made a loss of HK$8.5 billion on the sale.

HengTen was the third most actively-traded stock in Hong Kong on Tuesday, with turnover exceeding HK$2.1 billion as of the midday break.

Only about 4% of HengTen’s free float is sold short, according to IHS Markit Ltd. data, with traders needing fewer than two days to cover their bearish bets. That suggests the rapid rally is unlikely to be a result of a so-called short squeeze, where speculators are forced to buy borrowed shares at increasingly higher prices.