Credit
Wu Hong/European Pressphoto Agency
BEIJING — The Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, which has made headlines for its global acquisition spree, has said it will sell 76 hotels and a major chunk of 13 tourism projects to the property developer Sunac China for $9.3 billion.
Sunac, based in the northern city of Tianjin, will pay $4.4 billion for a 91 percent stake in each of the 13 tourism projects, all in China. The deal means Sunac will also take over the loans for the projects, Wanda said on its website. Wanda also agreed to sell 76 hotels for $4.9 billion.
Wanda, owned by one of China’s richest men, Wang Jianlin, will continue to operate all the projects under the company’s brand name. The two companies will sign a detailed agreement by the end of this month.
Shares of Wanda, and some of China’s biggest global deal makers, have recently come under pressure as Beijing increases scrutiny of the country’s debt-plagued financial system. The company, which owns the AMC Theaters chain in the United States and has long sought deals in Hollywood, has been trying to develop its entertainment division.
The deal will allow Sunac to capitalize on domestic tourism while incomes are rising in China. Last week, its shares plunged amid investor jitters that it would take a loss from its $2.2 billion investment in the beleaguered LeEco Group, which is struggling to repay creditors.
Last month, a senior Chinese banking official warned that some of China’s largest companies may pose a systemic risk to the country’s banks. China is clamping down on its most ambitious and acquisitive companies, worried that many are overpaying for huge cross-border deals.
