Wanda reaches agreement with pre-IPO investors to stay put
CHINESE property giant Dalian Wanda Group has avoided an immediate repayment of more than US$4 billion to its investors after reaching an agreement with them, according to a statement by the firm on Tuesday (Dec 12).
Wanda was due to repay about 30 billion yuan (S$5.6 billion) plus interest to a group of investors in Wanda’s mall operating unit, Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management Group, before the end of this year if Zhuhai Wanda shares are not listed.
Under the new deal, the group of investors, including private equity investor PAG, agreed to re-invest their money at the year-end deadline after Wanda pays back their original stakes, said the statement.
Under the arrangement, the group of investors will control about 60 per cent of Zhuhai Wanda. Dalian Wanda, controlled by its billionaire founder Wang Jianlin, will hold 40 per cent as the single largest shareholder, the statement said.
The group of investors put about 38 billion yuan into Zhuhai Wanda in 2021, of which PAG contributed about 18 billion yuan, it said.
The new shareholding structure will give Zhuhai Wanda’s pre-IPO investors more oversight of the mall operating unit.
Wanda was once seen as among the few high-quality Chinese issuers in the junk-bond market because it focuses on commercial real estate and asset-light property management business. The conglomerate came under pressure after borrowing costs surged and Beijing cracked down on the property sector.
Zhuhai Wanda managed 494 malls across China as of the end of November, including 204 from independent third parties, according to the statement. The company filed its Hong Kong listing application for the fifth time in November.
Other than PAG, Zhuhai Wanda attracted a marquee list of pre-IPO investors including Ant Group, Citic Securities and Tencent Holdings, its preliminary prospectus shows. REUTERS, BLOOMBERG
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