Chinese property tycoon Wang Jianlin has embarked on a big asset reshuffling within his empire to reduce the leverage of Dalian Wanda’s listed arm as regulators increase the pressure on acquisitive dealmakers to cut debt.
Hong Kong-listed Wanda Hotel Development announced late on Wednesday it would buy nearly $1.1bn of assets from Wanda’s theme park and hotel management units. It will also sell its stakes in four of its most prominent overseas development projects for an undetermined amount, giving the conglomerate’s unit Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties 100 per cent ownership.
The restructuring comes a day after the group denied rumours it was trying to sell nearly $2bn of property projects in Australia, which are among those sold to DWCP.