The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on March 15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Bottom line: Anbang Insurance is paying a big premium for US luxury hotels and may have to sell them for losses when China’s property market corrects, while China Lodging looks like a good bet due to growing profits from its focus on hotel franchising and management.
China Lodging posts big profit growth
A couple of hotel stories are in the headlines as we head into the new week, led by a surprise blockbuster deal that will see Chinese insurer Anbang buy US-based Strategic Hotels & Resorts for $6.5 billion. Meantime, one of China’s largest private hotel operators, China Lodging (Nasdaq: HTHT), has just reported its latest quarterly results that showed a big jump in profitability, as it mimics western peers by focusing on franchising and management services rather than self-developing properties.
These 2 stories both involve hotels but are also quite different, since Anbang’s move is squarely focused on overseas markets and its purchase represents an investment in property ownership. By comparison, China Lodging, owner of the budget Hanting hotel chain, is a domestic story of a company trying to move away from property ownership and into the higher end businesses of hotel management and franchising services. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: A Chinese buyer could have a strong chance of winning the bidding for US hotel operator Starwood, with CIC most likely to emerge as Beijing’s preferred candidate among a trio of interested local buyers.
Chinese buyers eye Starwood Hotels
Just a day after China’s 2 leading travel sites put aside their bitter rivalry and formed a major new alliance, we’re getting word of yet another major deal in the hot tourism sector. This time media are saying 3 Chinese buyers are eyeing Starwood (NYSE: HOT), one of the world’s top hotel operators. The 3 potential bidders include 2 of China’s leading private equity investors, China Investment Corp (CIC) and HNA Group. The third is one of China’s top hotel operators, Jin Jiang (HKEx: 2006; Shanghai: 600574), which has been on a buying spree recently both at home and abroad.
If one of the 3 succeeds, the deal would mark the largest purchase ever of an offshore asset by a Chinese buyer, based on Starwood’s latest market value of $15 billion. Word of the deal comes just a day after leading domestic online travel agents Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) and Qunar (Nasdaq: QUNR) buried the hatchet in their bloody battle for share in China’s fast-growing travel market. A Starwood deal would also come less than a week after US-British cruise operator Carnival (NYSE: CCL) formed a new joint venture with 2 Chinese partners. (Chinese article) Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 8-10. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Jin Jiang (HKEx: 2006) in Talks To Buy China-based Vienna Hotels Group (Chinese article)
JD.com (Nasdaq: JD) to Buy 10 Pct of Yonghui Superstores for 4.3 Bln Yuan (Chinese article)
Gome’s (HKEx: 493) E-commerce Unit Appoints New Management in Drive to IPO (English article)
Anbang Insurance to Make Over $1 Bln Bid for Japan’s Simplex: Sources (English article)
Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) Changes Name, to Spend 10 Bln Yuan on Content Development (Chinese article)
Bottom line: HNA’s purchase of a stake in a small US hotel chain could presage a larger buyout bid for the company in partnership with a Chinese operator looking to expand abroad.
HNA checks in to Red Lion
We’ll take a break today from all the recent mega-deals involving Chinese firms, and focus our attention on a much smaller hotel purchase by private equity high flyer HNA Group. Frankly speaking, I find this new investment in US hotelier Red Lion Hotels (NYSE: RLH) a bit puzzling, as the actual size of the deal is very small and hardly worthwhile for a leading Chinese private equity investor like HNA. But that said, global real estate and hotels in particular have emerged as a hot commodity for big Chinese investors over the last year, meaning this particular deal could presage a larger purchase in the sector by HNA as it tests out the market. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: ICBC’s $4.3 billion lending program for Pakistani power projects is being driven by Beijing policy directives, while Bank of China’s US expansion is a commercially driven move to tap Chinese demand for US real estate.
ICBC in Pakistani power projects
New stories involving 2 of China’s “Big 4” lenders are casting a spotlight on the love-hate relationship that many investors have with these mammoth banks that sometimes act commercially but more often make decisions based on directives from Beijing. The larger item has ICBC (HKEx: 1398; Shanghai: 601398), China’s biggest bank, committing to a massive new $4.3 billion lending program to help develop Pakistan’s energy sector. The other has Bank of China (HKEx: 3988; Shanghai: 601398) planning a modest expansion in the US, as it looks to tap a growing appetite for American real estate by Chinese investors. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 17. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Ourpalm (Shenzhen: 300315) Acquires 3 Game Firms In 4.3 Bln Yuan Deal (Chinese article)
Anbang Pledges $1.1 Bln Capital In Purchase Of Vivat (English article)
Zynga (Nasdaq: ZNGA) Loses $226 Mln In 2014, Shutters Zynga China (English article)
Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS) Reports Unaudited Q4 And Full Year 2014 Results (PRNewswire)
Yongche Complains Of Monopoly With Didi-Kuaidi Taxi App Merger (Chinese article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 5. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Yum’s (NYSE: YUM) China Sales Fall Less Than Expected, Shares Rise (English article)
Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) to Invest $100 Mln In Lenovo Unit Fancy Maker – Source (English article)
Bottom line: Fosun is prepared to up its latest bid for Club Med by another 20-30 percent, while Anbang needs to be careful in its investments to avoid ending up with a portfolio of overvalued, underperforming assets.
Fosun ups Club Med bid
Two of China’s most active institutional investors are in the headlines today, led by a new sweetened bid from private equity giant Fosun International (HKEx: 656) as it competes with an Italian group to buy French vacation resort operator Club Med (Paris: CU). Meantime, another recently acquisitive investor Anbang Insurance is back in the headlines, with word that it’s boosted its stake in Minsheng Bank (HKEx: 1988 Shanghai: 600016), China’s oldest and largest privately owned lender. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 20-22. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China’s Fosun (HKEx: 656) Raises Offer For Club Med (Paris: CU) (English article)
Waldorf Buyer Anbang Invests In Property, Banking Stakes (English article)
China Mobile (HKEx: 941) Targets 250 Mln 4G Users By End Of 2015 (Chinese article)
BYD (HKEx: 1211) Stock Rebounds, Confirms Buffett Hasn’t Sold Down Stake (Chinese article)
Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) Launches Open Platform For Travel Agents (Chinese article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 17. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Geely (HKEx: 175) 2014 Profit Drops 50 Pct On Forex Loss In Russia (HKEx announcement)
Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) To Announce $600 Mln Investment In Uber – Source (Chinese article)
Insurer Delta Lloyd (Amsterdam: DLL) Sells Belgian Bank To China’s Anbang (English article)
