HNA to sell Radisson hotels to Shanghai Jin Jiang group for an estimated US$2 billion

China’s HNA Group, the conglomerate shedding assets to pay down debt, agreed to sell hotel company Radisson Holdings to Chinese hospitality giant Jin Jiang International Holding.

For HNA, the transaction represents another step in the unravelling of a global empire built on leverage-fueled deal making. The sale would add to the more than US$17 billion in divestments that the company has made this year, a tally that includes stakes in Hilton Worldwide Holdings and NH Hotel Group.

Further Reading: China’s debt-laden HNA looks to sell more assets as pressure to repay debt weighs

Jin Jiang, which is controlled by the Shanghai government, is gaining a global chain that includes more than 1,100 hotels and brands such as Radisson, Prizeotel and Country Inn & Suites. Jin Jiang, which owns 12.3 per cent of France’s Accor, has been expanding overseas through acquisitions as Chinese tourists travel increasingly far afield. Earlier this year, it bought control of Indian chain Sarovar Hotels, following its acquisition of European hospitality provider Groupe du Louvre.

The Radisson purchase, complicated by tangled corporate structures, was announced Thursday and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Bloomberg reported earlier this month that Jin Jiang was said to be weighing a bid for Radisson, which could fetch at least US$2 billion.

Jin Jiang intends to fully acquire Radisson Holdings, an umbrella company that owns Minnetonka, Minnesota-based Radisson Hospitality.