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China property
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Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin loses control of Hong Kong IPO candidate in deal to avert US$5.3 billion crunch

  • Billionaire’s stake in Zhuhai Wanda will drop to 40 per cent while investors including PAG take a collective 60 per cent stake in Hong Kong IPO candidate
  • Deal will resolve a 38 billion yuan investment by PAG and other investors that hinged on a successful IPO by Zhuhai Wanda before end-2023

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Dalian Wanda’s Qingpu shopping mall in Shanghai, seen in May 2023. Photo: Bloomberg
Yuke Xiein Beijing
Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin will relinquish control of his key shopping-mall management unit under a deal with investors just in time to avoid a 38 billion yuan (US$5.3 billion) redemption before the end of the year, helping ease a cash crunch following a recent bond-default alarm.
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Dalian Wanda Commercial Management Group (DWCM), the tycoon’s flagship, will lower its stake in Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management to 40 per cent, while outside investors led by Asia-focused private equity fund PAG will own 60 per cent of the unit, according to separate statements released by the parties on Tuesday.

The changes followed an agreement to unravel an investment plan in August 2021, when outside investors injected fresh capital in Zhuhai Wanda, hoping to profit and exit via an initial public offering in Hong Kong before the end of 2023.

DWCM last reported controlling 78.9 per cent of Zhuhai Wanda, according to its Hong Kong stock listing application in June, while PAG and other investors including directors and senior managers had 21.2 per cent. Zhuhai Wanda manages 494 shopping malls in China, and is billed as the world’s largest operator by floor space.
Wang Jianlin speaks to the media after attending the Asian Financial Forum in Wan Chai, Hong Kong, in January 2016. Photo: Nora Tam
Wang Jianlin speaks to the media after attending the Asian Financial Forum in Wan Chai, Hong Kong, in January 2016. Photo: Nora Tam

PAG and other investors, including units under Ant Group, Tencent Holdings and Citic Securities, spent 38 billion yuan, then valued at US$5.9 billion, in Zhuhai Wanda in August 2021. That investment deal was struck at 24.84 yuan or US$3.86 per share, valuing Zhuhai Wanda at US$28 billion.

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The plan was to list Zhuhai Wanda before the end of 2023, failing which the investors could ask DWCM to buy back their stakes with a minimum return of 8 per cent.

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