DEPARTMENT store operator Metro : M01 0% has acquired an additional 6 per cent equity stake in China property developer Top Spring International for HK$93.2 million (S$15.9 million).

Crown Investments, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Metro, entered into a sale-and-purchase agreement with Chance Again, a substantial shareholder of the Hong Kong-listed Top Spring, to purchase 84.8 million shares – 6 per cent of the total number of issued shares – from Top Spring, the group said in a bourse filing on Thursday (Jan 11).

Top Spring is a real estate property developer in China specialising in the development and operation of urban mixed-use communities, as well as the development and sale of residential properties.

The latest investment brings Metro’s stake in Top Spring to 22.17 per cent.

The group previously held a 16.17 per cent stake through Crown Investments and Meren, another wholly owned subsidiary of the group. Crown Investments and Meren held a 16.14 per cent stake and 0.03 per cent stake in Top Spring, respectively.

The consideration of HK$93.2 million will be funded primarily from internal cash sources and external borrowings, Metro said. The amount comprises the purchase price of the shares and stamp duty on transfer of shares, with the purchase price arrived at based on arm’s-length negotiations.

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Metro added that the financial impact on the consolidated net tangible assets per share, as well as consolidated earnings per share of the group for the current financial year ending on Mar 31, 2024, from this investment may arise from the accounting for goodwill in accordance with the Singapore Financial Reporting Standards (International).

However, this can be determined only after the company conducts its valuation assessment on Top Spring. The assessment is expected to be completed by Mar 31.

Shares of Metro closed at S$0.51, up S$0.005 or 1 per cent on Thursday, before the announcement.