(WSJ) Chinese conglomerate HNA Group is seeking to buy a stake in Swiss airport retailer Dufry AG, which is currently valued at $7.6 billion, people familiar with the plans said.
HNA, which has business interests spanning from aircraft and hotels to asset managers, has approached some existing Dufry shareholders, including Singapore state-investment company Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd. and Singapore sovereign-wealth fund GIC Pte. Ltd., these people said.
A stake in Dufry would allow the Chinese conglomerate to further consolidate its position in sectors linked to transportation and tourism. HNA has spent billions of dollars to buy assets such as airport caterers, travel agencies and high-end hotel chains overseas.
Last year it spent nearly $4.3 billion to buy air cargo handler Swissport International and Swiss air-travel logistics company gategroup Holdings AG. This month, it completed the $6.5 billion purchase of a 25% stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. from Blackstone Group LP.
It isn't clear if HNA has approached Dufry's management.
According to Dufry's annual report, Temasek owns a 8.55% stake and GIC has a 7.79% interest in the Swiss company. Qatar Holdings LLC, owned by Qatar Investment Authority, holds a 6.92% stake.
The Chinese conglomerate has also made purchases in the financial and property sectors. Over the weekend, HNA agreed to buy a stake in OM Asset Management PLC, an arm of U.K. insurer Old Mutual PLC, for about $446 million.
In January, HNA, along with RON Transatlantic EG, agreed to buy a stake in hedge-fund investing firm SkyBridge Capital from founder Anthony Scaramucci, a surrogate for U.S. President Donald Trump who had exited the business to help secure a position in the White House.
And last week, HNA entered into a deal to buy 245 Park Avenue, a 1.8 million-square-foot New York skyscraper, for $2.21 billion.
Dufry operates 2,200 duty-free and duty-paid shops in airports, cruise lines, seaports, railway stations and downtown tourist areas. It has a presence in 64 countries. Last year, it reported a gross profit of $4.6 billion, up 58.6% from a year earlier.
Temasek and GIC made separate investments in Dufry in 2015 when the Swiss company was raising capital to buy World Duty Free SpA, a deal that valued the Italian company at $3.9 billion, including debt.
Source: Wall Street Journal by P.R. Venkat and Kane Wu
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