A Chinese group has failed in its bid to buy a top global aircraft leasing firm for the second time in 2 years, with word of the collapse of talks by domestic aviation giant AVIC and Chinese sovereign wealth fund CIC to purchase Europe’s Avolon. This second case follows another failed bid by a lesser-known group to buy US giant ILFC last year, and shows that Chinese firms still have a bit to learn when doing this kind of M&A. Some politics may also have been at play in this latest case, since AVIC is also designing a new large commercial aircraft that it hopes will someday compete in a lucrative market now dominated by Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Airbus (Paris: AIR). Read Full Post…
Two major new global investments are highlighting a recent trend that has Chinese buyers moving beyond their traditional comfort zones of resources and manufacturing and into other less familiar areas like real estate and sports clubs. The first case will see domestic insurance company Anbang Insurance buy New York’s landmark Waldorf Astoria hotel for a supercharged price of nearly $2 billion. The second deal has media reporting that Wang Jianlin, founder of real estate giant Wanda Group, is preparing to buy a stake in Spanish soccer club Atletico de Madrid. Read Full Post…
A new management shakeup in the top ranks of eLong (Nasdaq: LONG) didn’t excite investors too much, but hints that something is happening behind the scenes at this online travel laggard controlled by US giant Expedia (Nasdaq: EXPE). The shakeup has seen eLong’s CFO and COO both resign, though the company’s CEO is staying in his current position, at least for now. Rumors circulated earlier this year that a buyout could be coming for eLong from sector leader Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP), though such a deal never came. Read Full Post…
Hong Kong may be disappointed about losing the world’s biggest Internet IPO with the imminent trading debut of Alibaba in New York, but it’s getting a nice consolation prize with word of a major new listing plan by top commercial property developer Wanda Group. The Wanda reports are getting much less coverage than they might normally due to Alibaba fever, which will see the Chinese e-commerce leader raise more than $20 billion when its shares start trading on Friday in New York. But at up to $6 billion, the IPO for Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties will still qualify as one of the world’s biggest offerings for 2014. Read Full Post…
What nearly became a blockbuster marriage between China’s 2 leading online travel sites has instead ended in divorce, with word that industry leader Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) has formally yanked its hotel listings from the site of the second largest player Qunar (Nasdaq: QUNR). My use of the divorce metaphor here isn’t completely appropriate, since the 2 companies came close but never formally consummated a marriage. Still, the final split in this tie-up is probably the best ending for everyone, since it would have been a rocky road even if the 2 companies had agreed to merge their operations. Read Full Post…
China’s broader domestic travel market may be quickly getting saturated, but that hasn’t stopped leading online travel agent Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) and global hotel giant Starwood (NYSE: HOT) from seeking out new investment opportunities in more niche-focused areas. News involving the former will see Ctrip purchase a cruise liner from global giant Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL) to capitalize on the rising popularity for ocean cruises among Chinese vacationers. The latter news bit will see Starwood, owner of the Westin and Sheraton hotel brands, open an ambitious 4 new resorts on the tourist-friendly Hainan island over the next 5 years. Read Full Post…
I often write about the travel and leisure industry in this space, with special focus on hotels and online travel agents that are reaping big profits from China’s fast growing middle class with plenty of money to spend on vacations. But another less visible group set to profit from the boom is the cruise industry, which is rapidly discovering a Chinese fondness for traveling aboard vacation palaces at sea. A new report on the trend seemed like a good opportunity to focus on the market, which looks set to offer big growth potential for industry leaders Carnival Corp (NYSE: CCL) and Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL). Read Full Post…
A look at the latest earnings from online travel agent Qunar (Nasdaq: QUNR) and online classified ad site 58.com (NYSE: WUBA) made me feel like I was living in a parallel universe where everything was the opposite of what it should be. Qunar, China’s second largest online travel agent backed by leading search engine Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), saw its loss soar 10-fold as its costs grew far faster than revenue. And yet investors welcomed the results, bidding up the company’s stock by 6 percent. Conversely, the profitable 58.com saw its earnings more than double, and yet it’s stock tanked nearly 8 percent on the report. Read Full Post…
After a failed bid at buying the world’s largest aircraft leasing company last year, China appears to be gearing up for a second attempt to enter the lucrative space with plans to bid for European giant Avolon. In this instance, the report is coming from a major Chinese newspaper that says China Investment Corp is teaming up with Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC) in the bid, which could be worth some 12 billion euros ($16 billion). That would easily make it the largest global acquisition by a Chinese firm outside the resource sector, reflecting the country’s growing financial might as many European firms continue to struggle with after-effects of the continent’s debt crisis of several years ago. Read Full Post…
I’m normally quite upbeat on leading online travel site Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP), but I really don’t understand the logic behind its new decision to sell 10 percent of itself to US peer Priceline (Nasdaq: PCLN). On the surface, the deal looks reasonable enough, pairing Ctrip’s strength in China with Priceline’s in the US and other western markets. But anyone familiar with Ctrip knows the company is fiercely independent and doesn’t work very well with other strategic partners. What’s more, this deal will put even more money into Ctrip’s already bulging cash pot, giving it more funds than it needs.
Separate reports about a new IPO by one company and potential exit from the Nasdaq by another are reflecting the mixed feelings that Chinese firms have for New York, where public listings can bring both prestige and also headaches. In the new listing category, media are reporting that yet another mobile game developer called iDreamSky has just made its first public filing for a New York IPO to raise up to $110 million. Meantime, other media are reporting that veteran online travel service eLong (Nasdaq: LONG) could be gearing up for a buy-out by much larger rival Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP). Read Full Post…
