RRJ-led group in talks to invest US$4 billion in HNA’s Ingram Micro

RRJ Capital, run by former Goldman Sachs partner Richard Ong, is in advanced talks with the embattled HNA Group Co. to lead a US$4 billion investment in Ingram Micro Inc., people familiar with the matter said.

The group led by the Hong Kong-based private equity firm will invest through an HNA bond that can be converted into close to 50 per cent of Ingram Micro’s shares, the people said, asking not to be identified before the agreement, which may be signed as early as next week. The bond proceeds will be used to pay down a loan taken by HNA from Chinese banks for the acquisition of the US networking and software distributor, the people said.

A RRJ official declined to comment, while spokespeople from HNA and Ingram Micro did not immediately respond to queries after regular office hours.

HNA has faced an uphill struggle to fix its bloated debt load despite agreeing to sell more than US$25 billion in assets since the start of 2018. In April, creditors of the firm took the extraordinary step of seizing golf courses and other assets after a unit reneged on a loan payment.

With the ongoing US trade disputes with China, the reduction of Chinese ownership in Ingram Micro is expected to help the consortium win the approval of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, one of the people said. The funds of RRJ do not include Chinese investors, with two thirds of its funds coming from North America and Europe, and the rest pooled from Asia and the Middle East, the person said.