60 billion fell from the sky and hit Wang Jianlin

01, 60 billion fell from the sky, and the Middle East tyrants came

Wang Jianlin, who was still selling assets last year, finally doesn't have to worry about borrowing money this year. After encountering the most difficult debt test of 38 billion yuan, Wanda waited for 60 billion yuan of funds from the "Middle East local tyrant group", which shocked the entire capital market.

On March 30, PAG, CITIC Capital, Ares Management, Ares Management, Platinum Peony, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), and Mubadala Investment Company held a formal signing ceremony for an investment agreement in Dalian.

According to the agreement, the five companies will jointly invest approximately RMB60 billion in Dalian Sundameng Commercial Management Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Sundameng Commercial Management"), holding a total of 60% of the shares, and Dalian Wanda Commercial Management will hold 40% of the shares. The investment of 60 billion yuan has set a record for the largest single investment in China's private equity investment in the past five years, and this investment is the implementation of the specific content of the investment agreement on December 12 last year.

The signing ceremony was grand, and Wanda and Xinda allies each sent senior executives to participate. Wanda sent six representatives, including Qi Jie, President of Wanda Group, and Xiao Guangrui, President of Wanda Commercial Management Group, while Qiu Zhongwei, partner and chairman of PAG China, and Huang Dewei, partner and president of PAG China, were dispatched by PAG.

More attention has been paid to the newly disclosed shareholders: the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Mubadala, both of which are among the three largest global sovereign wealth funds, and have been frequently "sweeping" in the Chinese market in recent years.

On the day of Double 12 last year, Wanda signed a new agreement with investors, saying that PAG would work with other investors to reinvest in its subsidiary Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management after the redemption of the original VAM agreement expired, which means that Wang Jianlin can temporarily get rid of the pressure of Wanda's 38 billion debt payment. Dalian Wanda Commercial Management is the main owner of Wanda Group's commercial center, while its original subsidiary, Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management, is engaged in the operation and management of the commercial center.

But the true identity of the new investors in PAG's hand has been a mystery. Even on January 16, 2024, Dalian Wanda Commercial Management Group Co., Ltd. added foreign investment and established Dalian Xindameng Commercial Management Co., Ltd., with a registered capital of up to 16.2 billion, the outside world has never known the meaning behind this action.

It wasn't until the announcement of the signing this time that the mysterious veil of the gold owner was finally revealed. PAG and other investors have joined hands with two major Middle Eastern capitals and sent 60 billion days of capital to Wanda. However, the Middle Eastern tyrant is by no means the "stupid and rich people" in the movie.

In recent years, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority's investment strategy in China has been very diversified, covering a variety of channels such as real estate, investment funds, primary market equity investment and secondary market equities. However, Middle Eastern capital has a cautious investment style, and not everyone can get their investment in the primary market.

For investors, the key to investing in Wanda depends on Wanda's own debt volume and asset quality. This is also a problem that Wang Jianlin has been dealing with at the beginning of the earliest cooperation. Despite the partnership with PAG, Wang Jianlin has been able to sell 14 Wanda Plazas so far.

Wanda said that Xinda Alliance Business Management Co., Ltd. is a newly established holding company, and its subsidiary is Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management, which is a commercial plaza operation and management platform, currently managing 496 large commercial plazas. Since the investment of existing investors such as PAG, CITIC Capital and Ares Management in August 2021, Wanda has exceeded its performance target for three consecutive years, with dividends to shareholders of RMB4.6 billion in 2021, RMB6.7 billion in 2022 and RMB8.8 billion in 2023, respectively.

PAG's investment style in the past has been buy out, where it will deeply intervene in the investment target, transform the company, and then increase the valuation or exit after a successful listing. This also means that the birth of Sundameng may become a new listing platform, but this is not clearly stated in the announcement.

At present, the arrival of Middle East funds can help Wanda solve the funding problem, boost asset liquidity, and promote its short-term performance, playing the role of a fund provider.

However, in the long run, in order to realize the appreciation of assets and make the company have more value, Middle East funds still rely on the operation and management of partners.

Next, PAG also needs to adjust the governance structure and operating model of the new platform to adapt to market changes and the company's development needs. In this regard, will Wanda's original team, which has the strongest management and operation in commercial operations, still be reused?

02, on a blockbuster occasion, Wang Jianlin was absent

On the festive day of signing a huge investment of 60 billion yuan, many people still found at a glance that Wang Jianlin, who was supposed to be standing in the center of the meeting, did not attend. In the center of the signing seat, replaced by Lao Wang, it was Qi Jie, Xiao Guangrui and other Wanda ministers.

Wang Jianlin's last public appearance was on January 24 at Wanda's annual annual meeting. But Lao Wang, who was emaciated in order to repay his debts, no longer had any interest, and just made a brief business performance report, which was very low-key. Since then, there has been no trace of Lao Wang's public appearance.

At the end of last year, faced with a VAM agreement of up to 38 billion yuan, Wang Jianlin chose to lose absolute control of Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management in exchange for a further alliance with PAG Investment. The benefits are also obvious, and Wang Jianlin can not pay back the "refund fee" of up to 38 billion yuan for the time being.

However, to solve this VAM crisis, Wang Jianlin lost absolute control of Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management, a core asset platform. In order to get rid of the pressure of VAM repurchase, Wang Jianlin exchanged equity for funds, and his shareholding in Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management dropped sharply from 78.83% to 40%.

In the face of PAG, a well-known private equity predator in the PE circle, whether Wang Jianlin's right to speak will be diluted again or even replaced has attracted the attention of public opinion.

After all, in the face of a new shareholding company, Shan Weijian once said unceremoniously, "Our control is reflected in one aspect, that is, the CEO can be appointed or replaced at any time", and the management style is very strong.

There are many vivid examples of this in the capital market. The original shareholders of the companies selected by PAG often lose their voice, and after some restructuring and reorganization, Shan Weijian often sells them at a premium to create profits. This time it's Wanda's turn, will Wang Jianlin become an outlier?

"City Boundary" observed that in the recent series of equity changes, Wanda's original veterans, directors, supervisors and senior high schools, except for Xiao Guangrui, who served as a legal person, and Ma Jun, a supervisor, did not appear in the list of Xinda Alliance's commercial management listing platforms again.

In the past, Wang Jianlin rewarded the "brothers" and never "softly". Ding Benxi, Lv Zhengtao, Qu Dejun, Qi Jie, Zhang Lin, Xiao Guangrui, Ye Ning, Qu Xiao, Lai Jianyan...... A series of well-known names have been among the shareholders of Wanda in the restructuring process.

But in the past many years, many of Wang Jianlin's right-hand men have also left one after another. Among them, Qu Dejun, Liu Haibo and others were arrested for corruption, and Ding Benxi, Chen Ping, Yin Hai and other old ministers have also long since left their posts.

According to the self-media "Free Shipping Area", Zhang Lin has officially submitted his resignation on March 26. This also made Wang Jianlin lose a reliable "brother" by his side during the critical period of the transformation of the power structure.

Standing at the moment, Wang Jianlin finally has no high pressure to repay debts. After many "broken arms", 70-year-old Wang Jianlin seems to have seen it, and he is no longer as obsessed with the right to speak as in the past.

With the signing of 60 billion funds, Xinda Alliance will also enter a new stage of development. When it goes public again, will Wanda still be Wang Jianlin's Wanda?

Author | amuse

Edit | Sun Chunfang

Operations | Zhang Daxing