Vanke: Fending Off a Hostile Takeover

From mid-2015 to 2017, Vanke, one of China’s largest real estate developers, became embroiled in a drawn-out hostile takeover bid. The battle started when a relatively unknown Chinese activist investor, the Baoneng Group, quietly began to buy up shares of this star performer. By late 2015, Baoneng emerged as Vanke’s largest shareholder. Vanke’s major rival,