Shin Kong shareholders approve merger plan with Taishin to become Taiwan's largest financial firm
Recasts; Adds Shin Kong chairman's comments in paragraph 3, 7
By Faith Hung
TAIPEI, Oct 9 (Reuters) -Shin Kong 2888.TW shareholders voted on Wednesday to approve a merger with Taishin Financial by a wide margin, with over 70% estimated to have voted in favor of the deal.
If approved by Taiwan's financial regulators, it will be the largest ever mergerdeal in Taiwan's financial services sector.
"We're making financial industry history with this consensual merger," Shin Kong chairman Mark Wei told reporters after the ballots were tallied.
In August, CTBC 2891.TW threw a wrench into Taishin's proposed deal with Shin Kong by making its own bid for a majority stake in Shin Kong. It subsequently withdrew its offerafter failing to receive regulatory approval for the acquisition from Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC).
Shin Kong leadership had expressed a preference for the merger with Taishin over the offer from CTBC, a sentiment echoed by the shareholders in Wednesday's vote.
Indenying approval for CTBC's competing bid, the FSC said it still encourages "benign" financial industry mergers and acquisitions that respect market order.
The regulator's next step will be to decideif the deal between Taishin and Shin Kong meets those criteria, but Wei expressed confidence in the process.
"Our discussions with the financial regulators are going smoothly," the chairman said, adding that merger implementation discussions between the two companies are also going well.
Reporting by Faith Hung; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Lincoln Feast.
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