The chairman of China’s Fosun Group returned to the office this week to find his four-day disappearance has created an uncertain outlook for his planned European acquisitions.
Guo Guangchang, who went incommunicado while assisting Shanghai authorities in an unspecified investigation, is poised to complete a €210m purchase of Frankfurt-based Hauck & Aufhäuser. But the deal to buy the private bank that was established in the 18th century is awaiting approval from Germany’s financial regulator and the European Central Bank.
In a separate bidding war for BHF Kleinwort Benson, the London merchant bank, Fosun is likely to lose out to Oddo & Cie, the French private bank. Mr Guo is China’s 17th-richest person with a $7.8bn fortune, according to the Hurun Report.