SUNING BUYS WANDA STORE CHAIN
Appliance retailer seals deal to buy 37 department stores for undisclosed sum
CHINESE conglomerate Wanda Group has sold its department store chain to leading retailer Suning.com, in its latest move to downsize its wide-ranging operations after rapid diversification put it into financial trouble.
Suning, an appliance retailer and e-commerce platform, said in a statement issued on Tuesday that it purchased 37 Wanda department stores for an undisclosed amount.
The department stores are mostly located in central areas of major China cities, said Suning.
Wanda had diversified rapidly in recent years from commercial property into entertainment, theme parks, sports and other sectors, but has been squeezed by debts run up through a series of massive, high-profile foreign acquisitions.
Since 2017 it has sold off billions of dollars’ worth of hotels, theme parks and other projects after China’s government got spooked over capital outflows and rising corporate debts.
Wanda Group Co’s sales declined for a third year as Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin’s conglomerate continues to divest assets.
Revenue fell 5.7 per cent to 214.3 billion yuan (RM129 billion) last year, said the once-acquisitive group in a statement.
The statement didn’t say if the company was profitable or lossmaking last year. Total assets dropped 11.5 per cent to 625.7 billion yuan, it said.
Wanda, along with other Chinese firms, including HNA Group Co and Anbang Insurance Co, started selling off assets amid government pressure to stem capital outflow and reduce debt.
Among its sales were 13 theme parks that were part of Wang’s ambitious drive to unseat Walt Disney Co as the world’s largest entertainment company.
The services sector accounted for about 75 per cent of sales. Wanda didn’t include 37 billion yuan of revenue from asset sales for accounting reasons, it said.