DALIAN Wanda Group is considering a Hong Kong listing for its sports assets as part of efforts to rationalize its portfolio that could also include other sales, according to sources familiar with the situation. The conglomerate last month tapped investment banks for a potential initial public offering (IPO) of its sports businesses, three of the sources said. Citic Securities, China’s largest brokerage, is one of the banks involved, according to the sources. A spokesman for Citic Securities declined to comment. Wanda’s businesses range from real estate to football and cinemas but it has been rattled in the past year by a government-led crackdown on overseas deals and high leverage. The company is owned by Wang Jianlin, one of China’s richest men. An IPO of Wanda’s sports assets would include Infront Sports & Media AG, a Swiss sports marketing company and World Triathlon Corp., the organizer and promoter of the Ironman race, according to the sources. The two were acquired in 2015 for US$1.2 billion and US$650 million respectively. The share offering would also include Wanda’s smaller sports assets in China, such as cycling and basketball leagues, one of sources said. The public float would not involve Wanda’s 20 percent stake in the Spanish football club Atletico Madrid, the source said. The IPO would most likely take place in Hong Kong, but bankers have also pitched for a U.S. listing, according to the sources. Wanda is separately looking to sell Sunseeker International, a British yacht maker it bought in 2013 for US$495 million but whose financial performance it has failed to turn around, two other sources said. Wanda has interest in property, sports and entertainment, accounting for more than US$13 billion of its deals in the past five years. In addition to sports, its holdings also include the cinema chain AMC Entertainment Holdings and movie studio Legendary Entertainment. (SD-Agencies) |