China Global M&A Push, 2005 ~ Nowadays

[TaiShang]

HNA to buy majority of Sky Bridge Capital
China Daily, January 24, 2017

HNA Group is seeking to expand its portfolio in the global asset management business by acquiring a majority stake in SkyBridge Capital, an alternative investment firm founded by Donald Trump adviser Anthony Scaramucci.

SkyBridge, a leading New York-based global alternative investment firm, announced that it has signed an agreement with HNA Capital (US) Holding and RON Transatlantic EG to sell the majority of its shares.

The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2017 and the detailed financial transactions were not disclosed.

HNA, the parent of Hainan Airlines Co Ltd, China's largest private airline, has strengthened its global portfolio with a string of overseas acquisitions in aviation, logistics and hospitality businesses.

The deal, the first acquisition of an alternative investment firm by HNA, would add to the assets of the group, which are now valued at more than 600 billion yuan ($87 billion).

"SkyBridge is a unique and innovative investment platform with a powerful brand that is well positioned to provide retail investors and their financial advisers with one-stop access to sophisticated alternative investment products," said Yang Guang, CEO of HNA Capital.

"Our investment in SkyBridge is an important step in HNA Capital's strategy to build a global asset management business."

As of November 2016, SkyBridge managed or advised approximately $12 billion in assets. The firm's investment offerings include hedge fund products, customized separate account portfolios, hedge fund advisory services and a long-only mutual fund, according to the company.

SkyBridge also hosts the SALT Conference in Las Vegas every year. It has been one of the world's leading investment forums that convenes global leaders across business, finance and public policy to discuss economic trends and investment strategies.

"SkyBridge has a comprehensive and in-depth knowledge of the US hedge fund market, and its portfolio includes many famous US hedge funds," said Pang Guoteng, an analyst at Morning Whistle Group, a Shanghai-based internet platform that helps Chinese capital conduct cross-border investment and overseas mergers and acquisitions, Caixin.com reported.

"Also, the SALT Conference will help HNA expand its industry contacts and step into US financial investment circles."

***


Trump will love this.
China keeps making Trump and Co. richer.

 

[ahojunk]

| Wed Nov 23, 2016 | 3:23pm GMT
Areva hopes China's CNNC, Japan's MHI will agree to buy stakes soon
By Geert De Clercq | PARIS

French state-controlled nuclear group Areva hopes that China's CNNC and Japan's MHI will agree to buy minority stakes in the firm in coming weeks as part of a restructuring of the loss-making firm, Areva's chairman said on Wednesday.

Under a government-led rescue, Areva is preparing to split off its uranium mining and nuclear fuel activities into a new company, provisionally called NewCo, which will get a 3 billion euro capital increase as part of a 5 billion euro ($5.28 billion) mainly state-funded cash injection.

Areva's board chairman Philippe Varin told a parliament committee on Wednesday the firm plans to launch the capital increase early in 2017, if possible in January, and hopes it will be subscribed not only by the state but also by strategic investors.

"We are currently working on obtaining a binding offer from strategic minority partners ...in coming weeks," Varin said.​

He mentioned China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) but did not mention Kazakhstan's uranium group Kazatomprom.

On Tuesday, French media reported that CNNC, MHI and Kazatomprom were each set to buy an 11 percent stake in Areva.

"These are big companies that want to be partners of Areva. For us this is a positive element - if we manage to sign a deal of course - because it would demonstrate that they believe in the future of Areva," Varin said.​

Varin specified the talks with possible partners had not yet been finalised and that in any case the French state would retain a majority of more than two thirds of NewCo's capital.

Areva is years behind schedule on projects in France, Finland and China, and the delays have raised concerns at French utility EDF as it lines up Areva to build two new nuclear plants at Hinkley Point in Britain.

Varin said he hoped the European Commission will give a green light for Areva's restructuring and state-funded capital increase before the end of the year.

As part of the restructuring, EDF agreed last week to buy Areva's reactor construction business for 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion).

Varin said he expects that sale to be finalised in the second half of next year, but the deal could still come undone as it is conditional on approval from EU competition authorities and on successful completion of the Areva-designed EPR reactor EDF is building in Flamanville, France.

After weak spots were found in that reactor's pressure vessel, EDF made the takeover of Areva's reactor unit conditional on nuclear regulator ASN ruling that these flaws do not threaten its safe startup.

Varin said Areva had completed 90 percent of its tests and that he was confident that ASN would declare the reactor safe.

A third condition is linked to a review of some 10,000 manufacturing tracking documents covering a period of about 40 years following the discovery of what the ASN has referred to as falsifications at Areva's Le Creusot foundry.

(Reporting by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Adrian Croft)

 

[艹艹艹]

http://variety.com/2017/film/financ...ays-929-million-for-nordic-cinema-1201966877/
Wanda Expands Global Theater Reach as AMC Pays $929 Million for Nordic Cinema
Patrick Frater
Asia Bureau Chief

AMC Theatres' purchase of Nordic Cinema Group will result in a chain of 1,000 theatres with 11,000 screens in 15 countries (AFP Photo/FREDERIC J. BROWN)

JANUARY 23, 2017|04:32AM PT

AMC, the U.S. theater chain controlled by China’s Dalian Wanda group, is to pay $929 million for Nordic Cinema Group. The company is the largest cinema operator in seven countries in the Nordic and Baltic regions.

The deal follows AMC’s acquisition last year of Odeon-UCI, the largest cinema operator in Western Europe. AMC said that the two European chains will be operated together.

AMC is buying Nordic in a transaction from private equity firm Bridgepoint and Swedish media group Bonnier Holding. The transaction is to be an all-cash affair worth $929 million (SEK8.25 billion), and the deal is subject to approval from the European Union.

Nordic has 68 theaters in 50 large and medium cities, comprising 463 screens and 68,000 seats. The company also holds substantial minority stakes in another 50 theaters with 201 screens.

Acquiring the group is part of Wanda Chairman Wang Jianlin’s stated goal of owning 20% of the world’s movie screens. He believes that will give his company significant negotiating power in discussions with the world’s leading film distributors, most notably the six Hollywood majors. Prior to the Nordic deal, Wanda controlled some 12% of global screens through AMC and its separately listed Wanda Cinema line, which has cinemas in China and also owns Australia’s No. 2 operator, Hoyts group.

AMC also recently agreed with the U.S. Department of Justice on the terms of its proposed takeover of the North American Carmike chain; the deal was closed before Christmas.

“For the third time in the past 12 months, we believe we have discovered a substantial acquisition that gives AMC yet another opportunity to further expand and diversify our geographic reach and more firmly establish AMC as the undisputed leader in movie exhibition worldwide,” AMC CEO and President Adam Aron said in a statement of the Nordic Group acquisition.

“It has been our observation that Nordic is extremely well-run with a modern up-to-date theater circuit that in our opinion offers tremendous value potential for AMC over the foreseeable future. We are also excited by the growth potential of Nordic as it moves forward with 10 theaters already in development or redevelopment. We have been impressed with Nordic’s talented leadership team, and further believe that their added expertise will be invaluable to us in helping to drive AMC’s progress across Europe.”

AMC said that it will achieve additional economies of scale and save about $5 million in costs per year.

Reactions to the acquisition from local players have been for the most part muted.

Thor Sigurjonsson, general manager of Scanbox, one of Scandinavia’s top distribution outfits whose slate of releases include “Lion,” “Gold” and “Molly’s Game,” said the AMC pickup was “not a huge surprise.”

“It’s a natural consolidation of the business, and we welcome a true cinema player to the market. We’ve had great relations with Nordic Cinema Group and hope to continue to do so moving forward,” said Sigurjonsson, whose company, Scanbox, operates in Finland, Denmark and Sweden as well as Norway via Norse Filmdisturjbution.

Michael Porseryd, CEO of SF Studios, another Scandinavian heavyweight operating across the Nordics, said his company “has had a long and successful partnership with Nordic Cinema Group and their very professional team and hopes SF Studios’s close relationship with Nordic Cinema Group will continue in the future.” SF Studios’s slate include “Borg/McEnroe” with Shia LaBeouf.

 

[AndrewJin]

Wanda now holds the second largest cinema chain in Australia...Time to get the largest one.

http://variety.com/2017/film/financ...ays-929-million-for-nordic-cinema-1201966877/
Wanda Expands Global Theater Reach as AMC Pays $929 Million for Nordic Cinema
Patrick Frater
Asia Bureau Chief

AMC Theatres' purchase of Nordic Cinema Group will result in a chain of 1,000 theatres with 11,000 screens in 15 countries (AFP Photo/FREDERIC J. BROWN)

JANUARY 23, 2017|04:32AM PT

AMC, the U.S. theater chain controlled by China’s DalianWandagroup, is to pay $929 million forNordic Cinema Group. The company is the largest cinema operator in seven countries in the Nordic and Baltic regions.

The deal follows AMC’s acquisition last year of Odeon-UCI, the largest cinema operator in Western Europe. AMC said that the two European chains will be operated together.

AMC is buying Nordic in a transaction from private equity firm Bridgepoint and Swedish media group Bonnier Holding. The transaction is to be an all-cash affair worth $929 million (SEK8.25 billion), and the deal is subject to approval from the European Union.

Nordic has 68 theaters in 50 large and medium cities, comprising 463 screens and 68,000 seats. The company also holds substantial minority stakes in another 50 theaters with 201 screens.

Acquiring the group is part of Wanda Chairman Wang Jianlin’s stated goal of owning 20% of the world’s movie screens. He believes that will give his company significant negotiating power in discussions with the world’s leading film distributors, most notably the six Hollywood majors. Prior to the Nordic deal, Wanda controlled some 12% of global screens through AMC and its separately listed Wanda Cinema line, which has cinemas in China and also owns Australia’s No. 2 operator, Hoyts group.

AMC also recently agreed with the U.S. Department of Justice on the terms of its proposed takeover of the North American Carmike chain; the deal was closed before Christmas.

“For the third time in the past 12 months, we believe we have discovered a substantial acquisition that gives AMC yet another opportunity to further expand and diversify our geographic reach and more firmly establish AMC as the undisputed leader in movie exhibition worldwide,” AMC CEO and President Adam Aron said in a statement of the Nordic Group acquisition.

“It has been our observation that Nordic is extremely well-run with a modern up-to-date theater circuit that in our opinion offers tremendous value potential for AMC over the foreseeable future. We are also excited by the growth potential of Nordic as it moves forward with 10 theaters already in development or redevelopment. We have been impressed with Nordic’s talented leadership team, and further believe that their added expertise will be invaluable to us in helping to drive AMC’s progress across Europe.”

AMC said that it will achieve additional economies of scale and save about $5 million in costs per year.

Reactions to the acquisition from local players have been for the most part muted.

Thor Sigurjonsson, general manager of Scanbox, one of Scandinavia’s top distribution outfits whose slate of releases include “Lion,” “Gold” and “Molly’s Game,” said the AMC pickup was “not a huge surprise.”

“It’s a natural consolidation of the business, and we welcome a true cinema player to the market. We’ve had great relations with Nordic Cinema Group and hope to continue to do so moving forward,” said Sigurjonsson, whose company, Scanbox, operates in Finland, Denmark and Sweden as well as Norway via Norse Filmdisturjbution.

Michael Porseryd, CEO of SF Studios, another Scandinavian heavyweight operating across the Nordics, said his company “has had a long and successful partnership with Nordic Cinema Group and their very professional team and hopes SF Studios’s close relationship with Nordic Cinema Group will continue in the future.” SF Studios’s slate include “Borg/McEnroe” with Shia LaBeouf.

Stockholm Airport

 

[jhungary]

Wanda now holds the second largest cinema chain in Australia...Time to get the largest one.




Stockholm Airport

View attachment 371454

Do you even know which is the largest one?

 

[Shotgunner51]

| Wed Nov 23, 2016 | 3:23pm GMT
Areva hopes China's CNNC, Japan's MHI will agree to buy stakes soon
By Geert De Clercq | PARIS

View attachment 371457

Good by French government inviting CNNC and MHI to the Areva restructuring plan, both have mature Gen-III techs (and venturing into Gen-IV) and thorough supply chain required to turnaround Areva, they can give EPR a complete re-design, upgrade, or even replace it with better reactor techs.

But I'm still skeptical about the chances given such deep troubles already caused by EPR in Finland, delays at home and potentially in UK Hinkley C. So unless French government is willing to give up management control completely, and sell at rock-bottom price, I can't say about MHI but I don't think CNNC is too keen to step into this trouble.

Let's see how this event unfold in the coming weeks.

@EpiiC @Zaki

 

[ahojunk]

Do you even know which is the largest one?

Village Cinemas is the largest cinema chain in Australia?

 

[jhungary]

Village Cinemas is the largest cinema chain in Australia?

Actually, Event Cinemas is the biggest, with 76 Cinemas in all 7 States after absorbing BCC and Greater Union., Hoyts came second with 38 Cinemas Australia wide. Village only operate in Victoria and Tassie.

Event Cinema consist of ~750 Screens on 76 Cinemas in Australia, Hoyts comes second at 450 screen at 38 Cinema, Village Roadshow came third at 26 threaters (Unknown Screen), Then the rest of the field is BCC, Reading and Greater Union.

https://www.hoyts.com.au/
https://www.eventcinemas.com.au/
http://villagecinemas.com.au/cinemas

Village Cinemas (its Parental Company Roadshow Distribution) have a joint venture on AHL Amalgamated Holdings Limited and also Event Hospitality and Entertainment to form a company called Australian Threatre, That is actually the biggest chain in Australia as it absorbed all Event, Village, BCC and Greater Union cinema, but individually, Event have more threater and screen than both Hoyts and Village combine.

 

[ahojunk]

Rio Tinto agrees to sell Australian coal unit to China's Yancoal for $3.2b
By business reporter Thuy Ong, Liz Farquhar, Cecilia Connell
Updated about an hour ago

Truck at WA coal mine

Global miner Rio Tinto has cut a deal to sell its Australian coal assets to China's Yancoal for $3.2 billion — if the sale is approved by the Federal Government.

Key points:

• Yancoal Australia is owned by Chinese company Yanzhou Coal Mining, which already runs other mines in the Hunter Valley region
• Local leaders are hopeful this is a vote of confidence in regional New South Wales' floundering coal industry
• The sale will need the approval of the Foreign Investment Review Board

The US2.45 billion ($3.2 billion) sale of Coal & Allied includes Rio Tinto's largest Australian coal operation, located in the Hunter Valley.

Yancoal Australia is owned by Chinese company Yanzhou Coal Mining.

The coal properties that would end up majority-owned by the Chinese company are Mount Thorley, Warkworth and Hunter Valley Operations, as well as a stake in Newcastle's Port Waratah coal loaders.

The deal is still subject to approvals from the Australian Government, Chinese regulatory agencies, and shareholder approval.

The Government tightened the laws around foreign investment last year after the Northern Territory Government controversially leased out the Port of Darwin for 99 years to a Chinese-owned company.

Now critical assets worth more than $250 million need to be approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB).

Treasurer Scott Morrison's office would not say if an application for the deal is before the board yet.

"The Treasurer will consider a wide range of issues in any decision-making regarding foreign investment review decisions," a spokesman for Mr Morrison said.

Read more at
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-25/rio-tinto-sells-australian-coal-unit-to-chinas-yancoal/8210392
.

 

[ahojunk]

I am a little surprise that Australia has so few cinemas across the entire country.

If any of these cinema chains are for sale, I am sure Wanda or its subsidiaries will be interested.

IMHO, I don't think cinemas have a bright future. Then again, their money their choice.

 

[JSCh]

China’s State Grid’s acquires Brazil’s largest private electric energy group CPFL
(People's Daily Online) 06:44, January 25, 2017

State Grid Corporation of China announced on Tuesday it has successfully purchased a majority stake of 54.64% in Brazil’s electricity giant CPFL Energia from its formal shareholders Camargo Correa and some pension funds in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, making the deal as the Chinese corporation’s largest foreign investment.

The value of the deal will total approximately 14.19 billion reais (about 4.49 billion U.S. dollars), according to a CPFL Energia statement.

The acquisition will help State Grid accomplish its comprehensive coverage in power transmission, distribution, commercialization, new energy generation, etc. in Brazilian market. It will enrich the assets portfolio and improve the risk resistance capacity of State Grid in Brazil. And it will further promote the economic and trade cooperation between China and Brazil, expand China’s investment scale in Brazil, so as to achieve mutual benefits and win-win cooperation of the two countries.

Since its entering into the Brazilian market in 2010, China’s State Grid, the world’s largest electric utility company, has successfully acquired and operated 14 power transmission companies in Brazil. It has operated 10,000 kilometers of power transmission lines and supplied power to important regions such as Brasilia, Rio, and Sao Paulo. It’s subsidiary, State Grid Brazil Holding, has already become the second largest power transmission company in Brazil.

CPFL Energia is the largest non-sate-owned electric energy group, as well as the largest power distribution group in Brazil. It operates in the segments of electric energy distribution and new energy distribution.

 

[TaiShang]

Wanda acquires largest cinema chain in Nordic Europe
By Zhang Rui
China.org.cn, January 25, 2017

China's Dalian Wanda Group continues its buying spree, with its AMC Theatres subsidiary announcing yesterday that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the largest cinema operator in Nordic Europe, Stockholm-based Nordic Cinema Group Holding AB for US$930 million.

After acquiring Europe's largest cinema line Odeon & UCI, it is the second major acquisition AMC has made in Europe, further expanding Wanda's influence in the European film market.

Nordic has 118 cinemas and 664 screens in nearly 50 large and medium-sized cities in the Nordic and Baltic nations. Nordic's theatres are ranked number one in market share in Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Norway, Latvia and Lithuania.

"For the third time in the past 12 months, we believe we have discovered a substantial acquisition that gives AMC yet another opportunity to further expand and diversify our geographic reach and more firmly establish AMC as the undisputed leader in movie exhibition worldwide," Adam Aron, AMC Entertainment CEO, said in a statement.

He added that the company is "excited by the growth potential of Nordic as it moves forward with 10 theaters already in development or re-development. We have been impressed with Nordic's talented leadership team, and further believe that their added expertise will be invaluable to us in helping to drive AMC's progress across Europe. AMC will bring additional efficiencies of scale and innovative strategic initiatives to the Nordic brands."

The combination with Nordic will result in AMC's hitting new milestones of 1,000 theatres and 11,000 screens in 15 countries, which will further strengthen AMC's current position of being the largest cinema operator in the world.

The all-cash deal needs to receive antitrust clearance from the European Commission.

The Wanda Group purchased AMC for US$2.6 billion in 2012 and continued acquiring rival chain Carmike Cinemas for US$1.1 billion in December 2016, making it the biggest movie operator in the United States, surpassing Regal Entertainment. It also made purchase of Australian cinema operator Hoyts Group for US$365.7 million in 2015.

As of now, Wanda operates 1,470 cinemas and more than 15,000 screens. After acquiring Nordic, Wanda is one step closer to reaching the goal of taking 20 percent of the world's film market.

@ahojunk

 

[jhungary]

I am a little surprise that Australia has so few cinemas across the entire country.

If any of these cinema chains are for sale, I am sure Wanda or its subsidiaries will be interested.

IMHO, I don't think cinemas have a bright future. Then again, their money their choice.

Cinema is not a big business in Australia, and it have no impact to Movie Business in Australia (all Australian Movie, apart from Major Hollywood Studio, are produced by the Government of Australia via Screen Australia or Screen Office locally, such as screen NSW) Hence the Threater business is not as much as the same as in the US or anywhere else.

Hoyts is a sole Movie Threater business, which they have been losing money (unlike other like Event Cinema which have a base of Hotel Business and Leisure business to compensate) constantly since 2010, that is the reason why they were sold for about 900 millions to Wanda in 2014

Cinema business have a future, just you need to match it with something, everyone goes to see a movie now and then, but the way Hoyts doing business, they are going into the path of desctuction, I don't know what had happened to them after they were bought by Wanda in 2014, but meh, I don't go see movie much since then anyway.

 

[JSCh]

Wednesday, January 25, 2017, 11:30
Mainland investors snap up overseas real estate
By Wu Yiyao

The exponentially expanding appetite of Chinese mainland capital for international real estate assets reached a record high in 2016 - and is likely to continue to play a significant role in the global property market in the next few years - although more domestic capital may look at opportunities on the mainland in 2017, a leading real estate services providers said.

Research by Jones Lang LaSalle found that Chinese mainland's outbound investment last year in commercial and residential properties surged 53 percent from 2015, hitting US$33 billion.

The report said that over the past three years investments in land, office buildings and hotels accounted for 90 percent of the overall outbound property investments.

In 2016, hotel and industrial properties were the two segments that saw the biggest investment increases. A surge in hotel buying was boosted by the purchase of Strategic Hotels and Resorts by Anbang Insurance for more than US$6 billion, JLL said.

It said that Chinese mainland capital was also funneled into acquiring land, with a 44 percent year-on-year increase in global land acquisition deals. Hong Kong, Australia and Malaysia were the most popular destinations.

"As Chinese mainland investors continue to diversifying their assets globally, demand for outbound investment will likely remain strong in 2017, but tightened capital outflows mean it will likely take longer time for deals to be completed," said Joe Zhou, regional director and research chief of JLL in China.

Properties in the UK were particularly attractive after Brexit, with prices dropping to more affordable levels considering the exchange rate, Zhou added.

Diversifying investments, hedging risks and securing stable steady income were the major reasons cited for Chinese capital to seek outbound investment opportunities, another report said.

However considering the uncertainty in global markets, currency risks and many other factors, investors were becoming more prudent, according to research by BNP Paribas.

 

[艹艹艹]

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN15A1Q4

Thu Jan 26, 2017 | 9:05 AM EST
Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial agrees to buy MoneyGram

A Moneygram logo is seen outside a bank in Vienna, Austria, June 28, 2016.
REUTERS/HEINZ-PETER BADER

Ant Financial Services Group, an affiliate of Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N), said on Thursday it would buy U.S. money-transfer company MoneyGram International Inc (MGI.O) in a deal valued at about $880 million.

The offer of $13.25 per share is pitched at a premium of 11.5 percent to MoneyGram's Wednesday's close of $11.88.

But the Dallas-based MoneyGram's shares were trading at $15.50 before the opening bell, up about 31 percent.

Ant Financial said it would assume or refinance MoneyGram's outstanding debt, which stood at $937.3 million on a net basis as of Sept. 30, according to a regulatory filing.

MoneyGram's biggest shareholder, Thomas H. Lee Partners, which has a 44.5 percent stake in the company, has agreed to vote in favor of the deal, the companies said.

MoneyGram has a global network of about 350,000 locations where money transfers are sent and received.

Ant Financial, whose anchor business is Alipay, China's largest online payments service, was spun off from Alibaba in 2011.

Alex Holmes will remain MoneyGram's chief executive and the company will continue to be based in Dallas, the companies said.

Ant Financial has said it plans an initial public offering this year, although a timetable or location for its listing have not been determined. (reut.rs/2dbbviE)

Citi is Ant Financial's financial adviser, while Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is its legal adviser.

MoneyGram is being advised by BofA Merrill Lynch and legal firm Vinson & Elkins LLP.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Thursday that a deal was close.

The companies said the acquisition was expected to close in the second half of 2017.