China Mobile Buys $6.5 Billion Stake in Postal Savings Bank

China Mobile Ltd. agreed to buy 45 billion yuan ($6.5 billion) of newly issued shares in a private placement by Postal Savings Bank of China Co., making the government-controlled mobile carrier the third-largest shareholder of the state-owned lender with 6.8%.

Postal Savings Bank sold 6.78 billion shares at 6.64 yuan per share to China Mobile, the bank said Wednesday in a statement. The offering price was 40% higher than Postal Savings Bank’s Tuesday closing price of 4.64 yuan.