Shareholders who vetoed HNA unit’s sale of Beijing office building to China Vanke want ‘better deal’
Shareholders may have blocked the deal in rare move because the US$190 million price tag was too low, even as the embattled firm fights to trim debt
Shareholders who rejected a plan by troubled HNA Group’s flagship airline to sell a Beijing office block as part of its efforts to reduce a mountain of debt said they are hoping for a better deal.
They voted overwhelmingly on Friday to pull the plug on Hainan Airlines Holding’s sale of the Beijing HNA Plaza for 1.299 billion yuan (US$190 million) to property giant China Vanke.
The shock result was the first time one of embattled HNA Group’s many recent fire sales has been blocked by shareholders.
“Shareholders think the sale is not the best plan. They hope the company can present a better plan that is in the best interests of the company and the shareholders,” the airline said in a filing on Tuesday, without further elaboration.
Hainan Airlines’ shares rose for the first time in five days on Tuesday morning, gaining by as much as 1.7 per cent in Shanghai to an intraday high of 1.83 yuan.
Shareholders vetoed the proposal to sell the 39,000 square metre building in Beijing’s bustling Sanyuanqiao area in a landslide 93 per cent vote at an extraordinary meeting last Friday. HNA had agreed to sell it to China Vanke on September 21, by selling its entire stake in the property unit whose sole asset is the office complex.