Embattled Chinese conglomerate HNA to sell its Hong Kong-listed construction unit to Times Holdings for US$890 million
- The sale is part of HNA’s ongoing effort to cut its mountain debt
China’s beleaguered HNA Group said it is selling its majority stake in its Hong Kong-listed property and construction unit to Times Holdings for HK$7 billion (US$890 million), as part of an ongoing effort to cut its debt and stay afloat.
In a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday night, the subsidiary Hong Kong International Construction Investment Management Group said it had entered an agreement in which Times Holdings had conditionally agreed to buy 69.54 per cent of the issued shares for HK$7 billion, or HK$3 per share.
“Now HNA Group has sharpened its focus to the core aviation business, while the subsidiary is a construction and property company. This is a strategic exit that aligns with the group’s development strategy. The group will continue to optimise its asset structure,” said Liu Junchun, a director of HNA Finance.
The deal comes nearly three years after HNA bought 66 per cent of the listed firm, then known as Tysan Holdings, from US private equity giant Blackstone for HK$4.53 per share.
Hong Kong International Construction Investment Management Group is known for splashing out money on four plots of land in Kai Tak, the city’s former international airport a couple of years ago. It was forced to dispose of these during the past year.
To ease its crippling debt load, HNA Group has sold billions of dollars worth of assets in the last year or so. It was formerly one of China’s most prolific offshore asset buyers.
It is in advanced negotiations to sell the former UK headquarters of Thomson Reuters at a sharp discount to the price it paid for the building less than four years ago, Bloomberg reported last month.
It is also working with an adviser on the potential disposal of Swiss aircraft maintenance firm SR Technics.
Since last year, the Chinese conglomerate has agreed to sell more than US$20 billion of assets ranging from property to big shareholdings.
