Produced by Radar Finance Text | Edited by Li Yihui | Deep Sea
Wanda, headed by Wang Jianlin, has found a new financial owner.
According to public media reports, five institutions including Dalian Wanda Commercial Management Group and PAG Investment Group officially signed investment agreements recently. According to the agreement, five institutions will jointly invest approximately 60 billion yuan in Dalian Xindameng Commercial Management Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Dalian Xindameng").
was founded in Dalian Xinda League in January this year. It is reported that its subsidiary is Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management, which is the main body of Wanda’s light asset business to be listed in Hong Kong.
’s investment this time is considered to be the fulfillment of PAG Investment Group’s plan to reinvest in Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management after Wanda’s listing failed in December last year. In the eyes of the outside world, receiving a war investment of 60 billion will effectively resolve Wanda's crisis and avoid an Evergrande-style ending.
However, after Wang Jianlin paid the price of "broken arms" many times, his remaining core assets are mainly managed by Zhuhai Wanda Commercial. Since this capital injection by PAG Investment Group and others will hold 60% of the equity of the new company Dalian Xindameng, and Dalian Wanda Commercial Management will hold 40% of the shares, this means that Wang Jianlin has lost absolute control.
Wang Jianlin’s “loss” of Wanda’s core assets also made his son Wang Sicong’s succession path even more confusing. Last year, during Wang Jianlin's most difficult period, Wang Sicong briefly stepped forward and took up the cultural tourism business that his father Wang Jianlin loved for a rare moment. At that time, there were rumors in the market that Wang Sicong would take over. But under the current situation, Wang Sicong seems to be getting further and further away from taking over.
Waiting for the "white knight", but Wang Jianlin did not attend the signing ceremony
html The 060 billion yuan investment fund may really solve Wang Jianlin's urgent needs.According to media reports, on the morning of March 30, Dalian Wanda Commercial Management Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Dalian Wanda Commercial Management") and PAG Investment Group, CITIC Capital, ares management funds (ares), Abu Dhabi Platinum Peony, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Investment Authority (adia), signed an investment agreement with Mubadala Investment Company.
It is worth noting that neither Wang Jianlin nor PAG CEO Shan Weijian appeared at the signing ceremony.
According to the agreement, these five institutions will jointly invest approximately 60 billion yuan in Dalian Xinda League, holding a total of 60% of the shares, and Dalian Wanda Commercial Management will hold 40% of the shares.
The above-mentioned investment institutions are all well-known investment institutions in the industry. For example, PAG Investment Group (pag), founded in 2002, is known as the "Little Black Stone of Asia" and manages more than US$50 billion in assets as of the end of 2022.
In addition, CITIC Capital and ares are also "old friends" who have invested in Wanda in 2021. In July and August of that year, Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management introduced a rich lineup of 22 institutional investors, with a total investment of approximately 38 billion yuan. Domestic investors include Ant Technology, Tencent, Country Garden, CITIC Capital, and Warburg Pincus. Investment, China Merchants Capital, etc. Among the foreign investors are the Zheng Yutong family, pag, etc.
At that time, some investors signed a gambling agreement with Wanda Commercial Management. Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management must complete the listing before the end of 2023, otherwise it will have to pay investors an equity repurchase payment at an annual internal rate of return of 8%, with an amount of approximately 30 billion yuan.
However, as the bet failed at maturity, some investors began to want to quit, and Wang Jianlin faced pressure to perform the contract. In order to avoid triggering a repurchase, Pag will lend a helping hand to Wanda at this time.
On December 12, 2023, Wanda Group and pag’s official website both issued an announcement, which stated that pag had signed a new investment agreement with Dalian Wanda Commercial Management Group. Pag will join forces with other investors to expiry its investment redemption period in 2021. At that time, after being redeemed by Dalian Wanda Commercial Management Group, it reinvested in Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management.
This investment is also the implementation of last year’s investment agreement. Judging from the latest investment arrangements, PAG has not only attracted two Middle Eastern capitals, but the amount of 60 billion is also the largest single transaction in China's private equity market in the past five years. There is no gambling agreement, and the amount is expected to be paid in the second quarter. pay off.
Sky Eye Check shows that the invested Dalian Xinda League was established in January 2024. The legal representative is Xiao Guangrui, with a registered capital of approximately 16.207 billion yuan. It is owned by Dalian Wanda Business Management Group Co., Ltd. and its subsidiary Dalian Wanyu Enterprise Management Co., Ltd. The company holds shares jointly.
According to media reports, the subsidiary of Dalian Xinda League is Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management. It is the largest commercial real estate management company in China and the main body of Wanda’s light asset business listed in Hong Kong. It currently manages 496 large shopping malls.
In this regard, Bai Wenxi, vice chairman of the China Enterprise Capital Alliance, analyzed that this investment will provide Wanda with necessary liquidity and financial support to help it repay part of its debt and optimize its financial structure. After
received investment, its valuation shrank significantly, and Wanda lost absolute control.
Over the past year, Wang Jianlin has been struggling to save himself.
As the end of December approaches, Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management has little chance of going public as scheduled. In order to cope with the liquidity pressure, Wang Jianlin has to give up actual control of his subsidiary Wanda Films.
On December 6 last year, Wanda Film announced that the company’s actual controller Wang Jianlin planned to transfer his 51% stake in the company’s controlling shareholder Beijing Wanda Investment Co., Ltd. to Shanghai Ruyi Investment Management Co., Ltd.
Movies were once an old dream of Wang Jianlin, who regarded him as an industry with no ceiling. However, after this equity change was completed, the actual controller of Wanda Film was changed from Wang Jianlin to Ke Liming.
Counting the previous three sales of Wanda Film’s equity, Wang Jianlin has withdrawn nearly 9 billion yuan in total funds through the transfer of controlling interests. At the same time, Wang Jianlin also sold Wanda Plazas located in first- and second-tier cities in exchange for working capital.
According to media statistics, as of December 31, 2022, a total of 473 Wanda Plazas have been opened. But as of March 24, 2024, Wanda Group has sold a total of 14 Wanda Plazas. The 15th Wanda Plaza was sold at the end of March.
Wang Jianlin has always been decisive and determined when it comes to selling assets. At its peak, Wanda Group's business spanned many fields such as real estate development, culture, film and television, tourism, sports, and finance.
But when he encountered a liquidity crisis in 2017, Wang Jianlin immediately sold 13 Wanda Cultural Tourism City and 76 star-rated hotels, earning 63.7 billion to tide over the crisis.
According to Jiemian News, Wang Jianlin once told senior executives internally, "All assets can be sold, and we can buy them back when our situation improves."
Judging from the existing information, in the latest investment, Wang Jianlin and It has been decisive and sincere when selling assets in the past, making major concessions in terms of valuation and control.
First of all, in terms of valuation, investors such as PAG invested in Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management in 2021. At that time, Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management was valued at approximately US$28 billion or RMB 180 billion.
In the following years, the company continued to grow in size. Public information shows that from 2020 to 2022, Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management's revenue was 17.196 billion yuan, 23.481 billion yuan and 27.12 billion yuan respectively; its net profits were 1.112 billion yuan, 3.512 billion yuan and 7.533 billion yuan respectively.
And from 2021 to 2023, Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management has exceeded its performance targets for three consecutive years, with dividends to shareholders of 4.6 billion yuan, 6.7 billion yuan, and 8.8 billion yuan respectively. With
’s performance and strong cash flow, Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management’s asset-light transformation can be described as very successful compared to traditional real estate development companies that frequently cut profits and lose profits.
However, as of now, Dalian Xindameng, which has taken over the business management of Zhuhai Wanda, is valued at only about 100 billion yuan based on the investment of 60 billion yuan by pag and other investors in exchange for 60% of the equity, which has shrunk significantly.
Secondly, another focus of attention from the outside world is that Wanda has lost its "absolute control" over Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management.
On June 28 last year, Zhuhai Wanda submitted a prospectus for the fourth time, which showed that Dalian Wanda Commercial Management held 78.83% of the shares of Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management directly and indirectly.
Wang Jianlin and his wife Lin Ning hold a combined 49.29% stake in Dalian Wanda Commercial Management. Wang Jianlin and his wife hold approximately 38.86% of Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management, plus Wang Sicong holds a small stake in Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management.
But now, according to the new agreement, Dalian Wanda Commercial Management’s shareholding ratio will drop to 40%, making it the single largest shareholder.At the same time, several existing and new investor shareholders including PAG participated in the investment, and their total shareholding increased to 60%.
This will not only cause Wang Jianlin's income rights to drop significantly, but his right to speak in subsequent developments may also be weakened. Huang Dewei, PAG Investment Partner and President of PAG China, told the media that the new DAG will be separated from the Wanda Group’s system and run as an independent company.
He also emphasized that PAG will be deeply involved in the corporate governance of Xinda Alliance in the future, which also reassures Middle Eastern capital.
A gambling crisis caused Wang Jianlin to lose absolute control of Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management, the core asset platform, and some even believed that he would also lose his dominance over asset-light operating companies.
In response, Bai Wenxi told Radar Finance that what Dalian Wanda Commercial Management lost was its absolute controlling stake and its largest shareholder. Coupled with Wanda's professional field of business management, investment institutions, as freeriders, cannot take away Wang Jianlin's steering wheel. At most, they will only participate at the decision-making and strategic level. It is a misunderstanding to say that Wang Jianlin has lost his leadership.
Wang Jianlin is 70 years old. Will Wang Sicong succeed Wanda?
Wang Jianlin, who is 70 years old, has overcome the difficulty of gambling, and the next step may be to consider cultivating a successor.
The issue of Wanda’s successor has always been a hotly debated topic. Generally speaking, some of the successors of China's private enterprises are passed on to their children, and the other part is left to a team of professional managers, which is more in line with the system design of modern companies.
Regarding Wanda’s succession plan, Wang Jianlin said in an interview a long time ago that Wang Sicong is allowed to fail twice, and if he fails the third time, he will come back to work honestly.
But later, Wang Sicong, who started his own business outside the Wanda system, did not create a business comparable to his father Wang Jianlin. The media even said that his entrepreneurial history was difficult to describe.
htmlAfter many years of hesitation, Wang Jianlin finally made a decision. According to the Beijing News, at the end of August 2022, people close to Wanda revealed that Wang Jianlin finally made up his mind: Wang Sicong will retire and a professional manager will be hired.However, when Wang Jianlin was most anxious in the second half of last year, Wang Sicong stepped forward and took up the cultural tourism industry that his father loved so rarely, and held discussions with the Tai'an Municipal Party Committee Secretary and others. This move of
also caused the outside world to speculate again whether Wang Sicong will officially take over? However, this speculation has not been confirmed so far.
In addition, after many large-scale asset sales, Wang Jianlin's business territory has been greatly reduced, and Wang Sicong still has few assets to take over. After combing through public information, Jiemian News found that the most valuable asset segment of Wanda Group is now Wanda Commercial Management, which operates commercial real estate. Other cultural tourism groups and investment groups have many businesses but few core assets.
However, after the introduction of new strategic investors this time, Wanda cannot even guarantee absolute control of its core business management business, which makes Wang Sicong’s path to succession even more confusing.
Regarding this issue, Bai Wenxi conducted a comprehensive analysis to Radar Finance. In his view, Dalian Wanda Commercial Management’s shareholding ratio in Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management has changed and it no longer has absolute controlling rights. At the same time, Wang Jianlin sold a controlling stake in Wanda Film. This series of actions shows that Wanda Group is undergoing a series of asset restructuring and strategic adjustments. Against this background, there is widespread concern and discussion about whether Wang Sicong will succeed Wang Jianlin and become the successor of Wanda Group.
First of all, regarding the objective conditions for Wang Sicong to take over, judging from the current situation, Wang Sicong has his own development and investment in the business field, and he has accumulated certain experience in investment and business management. In addition, Wang Sicong has a high influence on public image and social media, which may also be a potential resource for Wanda Group’s future brand building and marketing promotion.
However, Wang Jianlin seems to have clearly considered the choice of successor. Wang Jianlin finally chose a team of professional managers as his successor instead of Wang Sicong. This shows that Wang Jianlin may have more mature considerations about Wanda Group’s future development direction and management.A team of professional managers usually has rich management experience and professional knowledge and can systematically manage and operate the enterprise from a more professional perspective.
As for whether Wang Jianlin will hand over Wanda to Wang Sicong for management after his retirement, it depends on a variety of factors, including Wang Sicong's own wishes and abilities as well as Wang Jianlin's future plans for the company. Judging from the current situation, Wang Jianlin chose a team of professional managers as his successor, which may mean that he believes that a team of professional managers can better maintain and promote the long-term development of Wanda Group.
Bai Wenxi believes that there is no absolute answer to whether leaving it to professional managers is a better choice. A team of professional managers can bring professional management capabilities and experience, helping enterprises achieve more standardized and market-oriented operations. However, the inheritance of a family business also has its unique advantages, such as the inheritance of corporate culture and tradition, and the deep affection and sense of responsibility of family members for the business.
Therefore, whether Wang Sicong will take over Wanda after Wang Jianlin retires, and whether it will be handed over to professional managers, will depend on Wang Jianlin's final decision and the long-term interests of Wanda Group.
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