60 billion war investment! Wang Jianlin has found a new rescuer, and the power in his hands will also be reconstructed

Reporter丨Li Huilin Editor丨Tan Lu

Wanda Wang Jianlin, find a new rescuer.

On March 30, Dalian Xinda Alliance Commercial Management held by Wang Jianlin received an investment of 60 billion yuan from 5 institutions.

In addition to the old friends PAG Investment, CITIC Capital, and Ares Management, two new Middle Eastern capitals: Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Mubadala Investment Company.

In the past five years, this is the largest single private placement in China.

Wang Jianlin did not attend the signing ceremony, and sent Qi Jie, President of Wanda Group, He Qicong, Vice President, and Xiao Guangrui, President of Wanda Commercial Management Group, to the scene.

This will greatly alleviate Wang Jianlin's liquidity crisis. It's just that after the financiers enter the game, the power in the hands of Lao Wang will also be reconstructed.

Deliver on promises

The new deal reached by Wang Jianlin is the implementation of the content of the previous investment agreement.

In December 2023, in order to avoid the payment of 38 billion yuan of investment funds, Dalian Wanda Commercial Management and PAG signed an investment framework agreement to restructure the equity of Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management. The latter is the main body of Wanda's asset-light business listed in Hong Kong.

PAG's executive chairman, 70-year-old Shan Weijian, invested 18 billion yuan in Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management's pre-IPO financing.

It promised that at the expiration of the investment redemption period in 2021, after the redemption by Wanda, it would join other investors to reinvest in Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management.

Shan Weijian helped Wang Jianlin solve the repurchase crisis and also got control of Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management.

According to the agreement at the end of last year, PAG and other investors held a total of 60% of the shares, and Dalian Wanda Commercial Management held 40% of the shares.

Three months later, Shan Weijian fulfilled his promise to implement the reinvestment work and did not set up a VAM agreement.

"This investment will further optimize the company's independent corporate governance, more effectively motivate the management team, and improve operating capabilities and growth potential. Wanda said.

Dalian Xinda Alliance Commercial Management, which undertakes 60 billion funds, has just been established for two months, and its subsidiary is Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management, which currently manages 496 large-scale commercial plazas.

This company, which has the names of "Wanda" and "Taimeng", has a shareholding ratio of 6:4 by investors such as Taimeng and Dalian Wanda Commercial Management.

"PAG's intention is to save investments that would otherwise not be able to be cashed out, similar to borrowing new to pay for the old. Huang Lichong, president of Huisheng International Capital, told the "21CBR" reporter.

He estimates that this new agreement, which may be a replacement for the previous one, redefines the transaction structure.

The investment of 60 billion yuan may then be used to purchase business from Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management, so that Wanda Commercial Management can redeem the investment in the maturity.

Introduce a consortium

At the signing scene, the representatives of the investors were full of smiles.

"This investment reflects the confidence of international institutional investors in the development prospects of Dalian Xinda League. Wanda said.

The two new Middle Eastern consortia have a lot of backgrounds.

Among them, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is the largest investment fund in the Middle East, with assets of more than 850 billion US dollars.

It has bought large amounts of assets in the Chinese market, holding shares in more than 20 companies such as Zijin Mining, Oriental Yuhong, Kingdee and Lao Fengxiang.

The layout of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority

Mubadalah is one of the UAE's largest sovereign funds, with $276 billion in assets under management in more than 50 countries. In September last year, it just set up an office in Beijing, and has invested in Chinese companies such as Kuaishou, BOSS Zhipin, and Xpeng Motors.

Wanda said that the investment is the result of Dalian City's efforts to broaden the use of foreign investment channels, and will also be fully supported by the government.

For investors, the heavy bet on Wanda Commercial Management lies in its stable fundamentals and abundant cash flow.

Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management has also maintained a high proportion of dividends, with a total dividend of 8.8 billion yuan in 2023.

"Suntec's strong competitive barriers and significant first-mover advantage will support it to achieve solid operating performance in the long term. ”

Huang Dewei, partner and co-head of private equity at PAG, believes it will "bring good and stable returns" to investors.

Relieves stress

At present, Wang Jianlin is facing greater pressure on short-term debt. The huge investment came at a timely time.

At present, Wanda Commercial Management has 12 domestic and foreign outstanding bonds, with a scale of about 15.9 billion yuan, and nearly 8.7 billion yuan due within one year.

At the end of 2023, Wanda Commercial Management rolled over a US$600 million bond issued by its subsidiary.

At that time, the announcement disclosed its payment pressure, "due to the continued downturn in the real estate industry, the interest rate in the overseas capital market continues to rise, the company is facing certain difficulties in refinancing, and there is some uncertainty in the approval of Zhuhai Commercial Management for listing before the end of the year." ”

Source: Wanda

In order to raise cash, Wang Jianlin accelerated the disposal of assets and sold a total of 14 Wanda Plazas, which is still difficult to quench his thirst.

At the beginning of March, 5.072 billion shares of Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management were frozen for the second time due to "property preservation" and other reasons.

In mid-March, due to a business loan dispute with the bank, Dalian Xindameng's commercial management of 16.2 billion yuan was frozen for a time, and it was only recently unfrozen.

For Wang Jianlin, the considerable funds brought by PAG and other financiers will ease his liquidity pressure and ensure his subsequent development and listing.

What remains in suspense is that after the new agreement is implemented, what will happen to the governance structure of Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management?

The board of directors of Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management is currently composed of 9 directors, including 3 executive directors and 2 non-executive directors, all of whom have been with Wanda Group for a long time.

At present, Shan Weijian has only one director to Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management, Chen Qi, a partner of PAG Asia Capital, who is responsible for overseeing the company's overall strategic planning.

In the future, its board of directors is expected to change significantly.

What is certain is that the voice of investors such as Shan Weijian will be significantly enhanced.