HNA Group sells Sydney building to Blackstone for A$200m : sources

[HONG KONG] China's HNA Group has reached a deal to sell a Sydney building to Blackstone Group for A$200 million (S$210.974 million), two people with direct knowledge of the matter said, as the indebted conglomerate divests its holdings to raise cash.

HNA sold Blackstone an office building located in 1 York Street in Sydney, one of the sources said. The group bought the asset in 2011 for around A$117 million, said the other person.

The sources did not want to be named as they were not authorised to speak to media.

Blackstone declined to comment. HNA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Bloomberg first reported about the sale.

HNA, a aviation-to-financial services conglomerate, has come under a lot of scrutiny and due-diligence checks from banks and regulators following its July announcement that it changed its shareholding structure, while indicating that two previously named shareholders were in fact proxies for company founders.

Several regulators have subsequently blocked or questioned its overseas deals. HNA has also recently struggled for cash, asking some lenders to extend loans and delaying payments to lessors in several cases.

REUTERS