Wangjing SOHO in Beijing. Photo: VCG

US investment firm Blackstone will buy most of the shares of SOHO China in a deal of around HK$23.7 billion ($3.05 billion), the Chinese commercial property developer announced on Wednesday. 

According to the company's statement, Blackstone will offer HK$5 per share for the listed shares of SOHO China. After the deal the current shareholders of SOHO China will maintain 9 percent of the shares and the company will continue its listing in Hong Kong. 

Blackstone will also keep the current operations and management teams of SOHO China, the company's statement said. 

Before the transfer, 63.93 percent of SOHO China's shares were controlled by the company's founders, Pan Shiyi and his wife Zhang Xin, making them the largest shareholders. 

SOHO China has issued approximately 5.199 billion shares and Blackstone offered to purchase approximately 2.856 billion shares from the controlling shareholders, accounting for around 54.9 percent of listed shares. After the completion of the group share transfer, Blackstone will replace Pan and Zhang becoming SOHO China's main stakeholder.

Pan and Zhang will retain a total of 468 million shares, accounting for approximately 9 percent of the company's total shares.

Founded in 1995, SOHO China was listed in Hong Kong in 2007. Its shares were valued at around $2.55 billion, according to Refinitiv data. 

SOHO China was also one of the biggest real estate developers in China, with around 1.3 million square meters of commercial property across the country. At its peak in 2010, the company  reached sales of 23.8 billion yuan but by 2012 sales plunged to 9.468 billion yuan. 

Its market valuation has also been going down since its peak at around HK$60 billion. From 2012, the company started to sell its properties in major cities such as Shanghai and Beijing. By 2020, SOHO China only had nine major investment projects in China.