KATHMANDU: CNBC reported that shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed throughout the day, with stocks in Hong Kong leading losses as a well-followed deal between the Black Stone Group and SOHO China failed.

New York-based investing firm Black Stone offered to acquire Soho China for $3 billion in June, with regulatory approval pending from Beijing. Last month, China’s antitrust regulator said it had formally accepted the deal for review, according to Bloomberg.

From day to night, a city immersed in lights and colors. pic.twitter.com/cx0nGlRaes

— SOHO China (@SOHO_China) April 12, 2021

According to Financial Times, following that, Black Stone and Soho China, in a joint statement on Friday, said that they would not be able to receive antitrust approval for the acquisition within the agreed timeframe and hence Black Stone would not proceed further.

The failed deal has also returned the spotlight to Soho China founders Pan Shiyi and Zhang Xin. The colorful husband and wife pair has been synonymous with the development of the Beijing and Shanghai skylines and the subject of fierce discussion in the Chinese state and social media since the deal was announced, the media reported.

Soho China owns key signature assets such as  — Bund SOHO in Shanghai and the landmark Wangjing SOHO in Beijing – modern architecture marvels designed by iconic British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid.

Zaha Hadid, the first woman to receive the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize, had materialized many of her visions in China.

Shares of Soho China tumbled 40 percent on Monday. About $830m was wiped from Soho China’s market value when the exchange opened for trading, as per FT, Monday.

Blackstone has been investing in China since 2008 and owns approximately 6 million square meters of properties in the country, it reportedly said when announcing the offer.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong-listed shares of Alibaba dropped 4.23% following a Financial Times report that Beijing wants to break up Ant Group’s Alipay and force the creation of a separate loans app. Other Chinese tech stocks also declined, with Tencent falling 2.45% while Meituan slipped 4.47%. The Hang Seng Tech index dropped 2.27% to 6,595.03.

(With inputs from Agencies)