Recently, two Wanda Plazas have been transferred, causing a stir in the business world. Despite receiving a massive investment of 60 billion yuan, some commentators believe that Wanda still faces financial challenges. This news made its way to the top of Baidu’s search rankings on July 6.
According to the China Real Estate News on July 6, on July 1, Yantai Zhifu Wanda Plaza Co., Ltd. underwent changes in its business operations. The original sole shareholder, Dalian Wanda Commercial Management Group Co., Ltd., decided to exit, and Kunhua (Tianjin) Equity Investment Partnership Enterprise (Limited Partnership) and Kunyuanchenxing (Xiamen) Investment Management Consulting Co., Ltd. became new shareholders, with approximately 99.99% and 0.01% ownership, respectively. At the same time, there were changes in several key personnel.
On July 2, Yichun Wanda Plaza Investment Co., Ltd. also underwent business changes, with Wanda Commercial Management exiting as the sole shareholder and Jiangxi Chengze Property Management Co., Ltd. becoming a new shareholder with full ownership. Additionally, the company’s name was changed to Yichun Zetao Business Investment Co., Ltd., and there were changes in the legal representative and key personnel.
Public records reveal that the Yantai Zhifu Wanda Plaza project is located in the Zhifu District of Yantai City, with a total construction area of 1.19 million square meters, including a commercial area of 240,000 square meters, opened in November 2014. Yichun Wanda Plaza is situated in the Yuanzhou District of Yichun City, Jiangxi Province, serving as Wanda Group’s first Wanda Plaza in the Ganxi region, with a commercial area of 129,000 square meters and opened in October 2016.
According to statistics from Guangzhou Yijian Financial Media Co., Ltd., since 2023, Wanda Group has transferred 26 related companies, including iconic buildings in first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.
With Wanda Commercial Management facing dim prospects for an IPO, the conglomerate has been actively selling off assets like Wanda’s cinema and Wanda Plaza to ease its financial crisis. Additionally, they have been exploring ways to attract external funding.
On March 20 this year, Wanda Commercial Management Group signed agreements with multiple investment institutions, including Tailong Investment and CITIC Capital, to establish Dalian Xindameng Business Management Co., Ltd., with Wanda relinquishing 60% of the shares for an approximately 60 billion yuan investment. This move was seen as a significant turnaround for Wanda at the time.
However, in May of this year, about 16.2 billion yuan of equity in Dalian Xindameng Business Management Co., Ltd. was frozen for a period of three years. Yijian Financial believes this freeze indicates that Wanda’s financial crisis is far from over, predicting that Wanda will continue to sell Wanda Plazas in the future.
Regarding Wanda’s frequent property sales, Bai Wenxi, Vice Chairman of the China Enterprise Capital Alliance, analyzed to China Real Estate News that Wanda’s series of asset sales are part of their strategy to navigate the current market environment and financial challenges.
Public data indicates that Wanda still faces tight liquidity in the short term. According to financial reports released by Dalian Wanda, as of the first half of 2023, they had cash holdings of 16.015 billion yuan, short-term borrowings of around 6.377 billion yuan, interest-bearing liabilities of 141.283 billion yuan, and interest-bearing liabilities due within a year amounting to 29.257 billion yuan. Wanda’s cash reserves are currently insufficient to cover the maturing interest-bearing debt within a year.