China Life to buy 23.7% stake in CGB

China Life Insurance Co Ltd gained 3.97 percent to close at 20.67 yuan ($3.16) per share on Tuesday, following an agreement to buy a 23.686 percent stake in China Guangfa Bank Co Ltd.

The largest commercial insurance group in the Chinese mainland announced on Monday that it had reached a definitive agreement to acquire Citigroup Inc's 20 percent stake in CGB and IBM Credit LLC's 3.686 percent stake in the bank at 6.39 yuan per share. The acquisition will cost China Life a total of 23.31 billion yuan.

Once the transaction is settled, the insurance group will become the single largest shareholder of the Guangzhou-based commercial lender, with its stake in the bank increasing to 43.686 percent of the total.