Insurer Genworth Financial Inc. Shares GNW,
slipped 34% in pre-sale trading on Monday, after the company and China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co. Ltd to provide an update on their union agreement. “Due to uncertainty over the completion and timing of the remaining steps to close the transaction, Genworth and Oceanwide have not extended the December 31, 2020” completion date “under the union agreement,” The companies said in a joint statement The delay since the latter two companies agreed to extend the agreement on November 30 is due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions as well as the need for funding conditions. concluded by Hony Capital, Oceanwide said. The union agreement is still in force, but can be terminated by all parties at any time. “Oceanwide is committed to continuing to work towards attack to close the deal, and Genworth remains open to finalizing the deal if Oceanwide completes the remaining measures, “the statement said. In the meantime, Genworth is aiming to implement its contingency plan, which includes a possible initial public offering of the U.S. mortgage insurance industry, which seeks to near-term liabilities of about $ 1 billion of debt owed in 2021. They already sold the Canadian mortgage insurance business for about $ 1.8 billion in December of 2019 and raised $ 750 million in debt at US MI investment firm rate in August 2020. The company now has approximately $ 1 billion in cash and liquidation assets as of December 31. , approximately $ 340 million of that is circulated to cover the February 2021 high notes at maturity. “When we considered our latest extensions to the union agreement, the Genworth Board of Directors felt that we were on track for a near-term closure based on the information provided,” said non-executive Chairman James Riepe in a statement. “With the latest update, we do not believe closures can occur in the near future.” Shares have fallen 13.5% in the last 12 months, and the S&P 500 SPX,
has gained 16%.