China Oceanwide has major developments in the center of Wuhan, which was hit especially hard by the Covid-19 outbreak. Genworth and China Oceanwide said they will push the deal completion deadline back to Sept. 30, from June 30. The extension is the 15th the companies have announced.

Because of the delay, Genworth is preparing to handle its debt payments by borrowing money and, possibly, by selling a 19.9 percent stake in the U.S. mortgage insurance business through an initial public offering (IPO), Genworth said.

The new deal extension calls for China Oceanwide to show Genworth, by Aug. 31, that China Oceanwide has $1 billion in funding from sources in China to pay for the deal and $1 billion in financing from Hony Capital or other sources.

"If these conditions are met, the merger agreement will remain in place until Sept. 30, 2020. If the conditions are not met, Genworth has the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate the merger agreement as of Aug. 31, 2020," according to the extension announcement.

Thomas McInerney, Genworth's CEO, said in a comment on the deal extension that the company heard stakeholders would like greater assurance that the China Oceanwide deal is moving toward closing. The financing confirmation provision should address that concern, McInerney said.

"We continue to believe the transaction represents the best and most certain value for Genworth's shareholders," McInerney said.

Lu Zhiqiang, the chairman of China Oceanwide, said in a comment of his own that he's still committed to the deal.

"We have overcome many hurdles during the past three and half years and continue to persevere because of the future value of Genworth to our vision of pursuing the significant opportunities for long term care insurance in the U.S., China, and the rest of Asia," Lu said. "We remain committed to securing financing for the transaction in order to close the transaction as soon as possible."

From: ThinkAdvisor