2024.0330

Number of words in this article:2510, reading time is about 4 minutes

introduction：经历房地产几轮浮沉的王健林，似乎总能在关键时刻迎来转机。

** Author| ** First Finance Sun Mengfan

After waiting for months, Wang Jianlin finally welcomed the help of new investors. On March 30th, Pacific League Investment Group, CITIC Capital, Ares Management funds (Ares), Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) wholly-owned subsidiary and Mubadala Investment Company signed an investment agreement in Dalian, jointly investing about 60 billion yuan in Dalian Xindameng Business Management Co., Ltd., with a total stake of 60%, and Dalian Wanda Business Management holding 40%. This investment is the largest single investment in China's private equity market in the past five years, and it is also a solution to the problem of gambling on the listing of the business management platform and the implementation of the new investment agreement between Pacific Alliance and Wanda. It is understood that this investment is an important achievement in the recent expansion of channels for the utilization of foreign capital in Dalian, and will also be fully supported and guaranteed by the Dalian Municipal Government. Wang Jianlin, who has experienced several rounds of ups and downs in real estate, always seems to take a turn for the better at a critical moment. At present, Wanda, which is intensively transferring Wanda Plaza and docking investment institutions, is undoubtedly in a thirst for capital; but Wanda is more fortunate, the real estate industry has not seen tens of billions of strategic investment for a long time. Can Wang Jianlin, who transferred some of his shares, get through this?

"Middle East Capital" enters the market to rescue emergencies

Wanda's tens of billions of dollars of war investment was announced as early as last year. On December 12 last year, when Wanda was eager to deal with the listing and gambling crisis, Tai Meng Investment Group and Dalian Wanda Business Management announced the signing of a new investment agreement, announcing the end of the "listing and gambling crisis". The problem of gambling originated in 2021. 22 investors, including Zheng Yutong's family, country Garden, CITIC Capital, Ant, Tencent and PAG, once invested about 38 billion yuan in Zhuhai Wanda, with investors entitled to maturity redemption. The agreement stipulates that Zhuhai Wanda will be listed by 2023 at the latest, otherwise Wanda management will have to buy back shares from investors and pay additional compensation. On December 28 last year, the prospectus submitted by Zhuhai on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange expired again. Since October 2021, it has been submitted four times and expired four times. Tens of billions of buybacks are not a small amount, and Wanda is in urgent need of a new plan. At this level, Tai Meng Investment Group took the lead in signing a new investment agreement with Wanda. Tai Meng will join with other investors to reinvest in Zhuhai Wanda Business Management after redemption by Dalian Wanda Business Management Group when the investment redemption period expires. According to the new agreement, Dalian Wanda Business Management holds 40% of the shares, which is the single largest shareholder. Tai Meng and other existing and new investor shareholders participate in the investment, with a total shareholding of 60%. On the issue of listing, the new investment will no longer set up gambling agreements. At present, the investment of 60 billion yuan is the implementation of this new agreement. Now it seems that under the leadership of the original investors such as Tai Meng Investment Group, the new entrants include Middle Eastern capital such as the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and the Mubadala Investment Company. According to public information, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, established in 1976, is a global diversified investment institution that invests cautiously on behalf of the Abu Dhabi government and focuses on creating long-term value. Mubardala Investment is an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund that manages a diversified portfolio around the world and is committed to creating sustained financial returns for the Abu Dhabi government. Mubadala has $276 billion under management and invests in a wide range of industries and asset classes on six continents. Dalian Xinda League is a newly established platform for Wanda to introduce the war. On January 16 this year, Dalian Xindameng Business Management Co., Ltd. was established with a registered capital of 16.207 billion yuan, 99.9938% held by Dalian Wanda Business Management Co., Ltd., and 0.0062% by Dalian Wanyu Enterprise Management Co., Ltd. Its subsidiary is Zhuhai Wanda Business Management, which is a commercial square operation and management platform and currently manages 496 large commercial squares. The main managers of Dalian Xinda League are also veteran employees of the Wanda department. Xiao Guangrui, its legal representative, is a veteran minister of Wanda, and Ma Jun, the supervisor of the company, is also the supervisor of Dalian Wanda, and holds different positions in many companies of the Wanda department. Wanda said that after the introduction of New War Investment, Dalian Xindameng will further optimize the company's independent corporate governance, more effectively motivate the management team, improve operational capacity and growth potential, and give full play to the industry leading effect of Xindameng in the commercial square operation and management market to ensure its long-term development. Huang Dewei, partner of Tai Meng Investment Group and co-head of private equity, said:"This investment reflects the expectations and recognition of international institutional investors for the long-term development of Dalian Sindameng. We believe that Suntec Group has strong competitive barriers and significant first-mover advantage that will support it in the long run to achieve stable operating results and bring good and stable returns to investors." Zhang Yichen, chairman and CEO of CITIC Capital, said:"CITIC Capital has long been optimistic about the domestic consumer market and retail industry. As a leading enterprise in the industry, Sundameng has profound competitive advantages and good development prospects. It is believed that through this investment, it will bring long-term and stable support to Sunda League, promote the healthy and rapid development of the company, and create more value."

Has Wang Jianlin "landed" yet?

Wang Jianlin did not show up in the photos at the scene of today's signing, and his "Wanda business empire" still has many challenges. Wanda has been selling its Wanda Plaza intensively since last year, reflecting a desire to ease liquidity. According to incomplete statistics, since 2023, Wanda Group has sold 14 Wanda plazas, involving Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Haikou and other places. including Haikou Wanda Plaza Investment Co., Ltd., Shanghai Jinshan Wanda Plaza Investment Co., Ltd., Xiamen Dianqian Wanda Plaza Business Management Co., Ltd. After entering 2024, the pace of Wanda's sale of commercial projects has not stopped, and its shares in Wanda Plaza, including Hohhot Wanda Plaza Investment Co., Ltd., and Renshou Hanhua Plaza Management Co., Ltd., have been transferred in succession within nearly a month. Recently, another industrial and commercial change has taken place in Nanning West Wanda Plaza Business Management Co., Ltd., the enterprise name has been changed to Guangxi Chengxi Wanmao Business Management Co., Ltd., and the former wholly-owned shareholder Zhuhai Wanda Business Management Group Co., Ltd. withdrew. Guangxi Yishu Real Estate Investment Co., Ltd. is a wholly-owned shareholder. At present, it is more difficult for real estate enterprises to raise funds through open channels, and the sale of assets is a helpless move to alleviate liquidity. Public data show that at present, there are nine Wanda commercial management bonds with an existing scale of 6.902 billion yuan, of which the maturity within one year is 1.878 billion yuan. as for overseas bonds, Wanda Commercial Management currently has three US dollar bonds, with a remaining balance of US $1.24 billion. The problem of funds is also frequently reflected in the equity freeze. A few days ago, Wanda Commercial Management added an equity freeze information, involving an amount of about 16.2 billion yuan. The enterprise whose equity was executed is Dalian Xindameng. The freeze period is from March 20, 2024 to March 19, 2027. The enforcement court is the Hanjiang District people's Court of Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province. It is reported that the equity freeze is due to a dispute between Wanda's project and a bank over operating loans, which applied to freeze Wanda's stake in Dalian Xindameng before the lawsuit. In the follow-up, Wanda reached an agreement with the bank on the dispute, and information on March 29 showed that about 16.2 billion yuan of shares in Dalian Xindameng had been unfrozen on March 25. Industry insiders have told reporters that Wanda can introduce new investors, indicating that the latter is still very optimistic about the future of Wanda business management. Wanda also needs to comply with the regulatory requirements, constantly adjust and revise its business structure, capital structure and financial structure, in order to meet the requirements of listing, but also strengthen operation to provide stronger performance support for listing and sustainable development of enterprises. Wang Yuchen, director of Beijing Gold v. Law firm, has also said that Wanda's signing of a new agreement to lift the gambling problem does not mean that all the problems of Zhuhai Wanda have been solved, and that they still have to face the pressure of market competition and the challenges of going public. In addition, the reinvestment of Tai Meng Investment Group may also bring some new problems, such as changes in the ownership structure and the impact that investors may have on the operation of the company. Zhuhai Wanda Business Management needs to continue its efforts to achieve its long-term goals. **