Wanda Commercial says major shareholder KIA in favour of delisting plan

HONG KONG, July 28 (Reuters) - China's Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co Ltd said on Thursday its joint-largest shareholder Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) intends to approve the developer's Hong Kong delisting proposal, in line with fellow shareholder China Life Insurance Co Ltd . KIA and China Life each hold 7.42 percent of outstanding shares in Wanda Commercial, which will seek shareholder approval on Aug. 15 for its plan to delist. Parent Dalian Wanda Group - owned by China's richest man, Wang Jianlin - has offered $4.4 billion in cash to take the developer private before relisting it in China in the hope of better valuations. In a stock exchange filing on Thursday, Wanda Commercial said KIA has sent a letter of intent favouring the delisting, following a similar announcement from China Life on Monday. KIA could not be reached for comment. Proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis & Co said in a report dated Tuesday the financial terms of the offer by Wanda are "ultimately fair and reasonable", and it believes shareholders "may reasonably approve the proposed delisting resolution". "We believe shareholders likely have limited alternatives given that Wanda Commercial is majority-controlled by Wanda Group and has no desire to relinquish such control," it said. "Ultimately, the offer price appears to represent an acceptable opportunity for shareholders to cash out their investments in order to realize an assured value and immediate liquidity, at a premium to prevailing market prices." To gain approval, the proposal needs at least 75 percent of shareholder votes in favour, and no more than 10 percent of shareholders voting against. Analysts have questioned whether some investors such as BlackRock Inc - which is estimated by Glass Lewis to own 5.8 percent of Wanda Commercial's Hong Kong shares, bought at an average HK$58 each - would be willing to vote in favour. Dalian Wanda's buyout offer is HK$52.8, compared with the Thursday closing price of HK$48.7. Timing Investment, a cornerstone investor holding around 2.5 percent, told Reuters last month it would approve the plan. (Reporting by Clare Jim)