More trouble for Li's PCCW stake

Like most sagas in the wireless industry, the controversial sale of Chairman Richard Li's 23 percent stake in PCCW has been a long and tortured one. Now, Singapore's Stock Exchange is not allowing the chairman to vote on the $1.18 billion sale, which may put the deal with Francis Leung [1] in jeopardy, since minority shareholders will have the chance to reject the offer. Still, with a HK$6 a share offer on the table for a company trading at HK$4.77 currently, you would think the deal would go through regardless. The remaining members of the board will vote on the deal by the end of this month. Previous troubles for Li's stake in PCCW included a bidding war in June [2] and the state-run China Network Communications group, which is a major stakeholder, refusing to entertain offers from foreign companies like Texas Pacific and Macquarie Bank [3].

For more on Li's troubled PCCW stake:
- see this WSJ article [4] (sub. req.)