Wanda Film issued a suspension announcement, which showed that 51% of Wanda Investment's equity will be transferred to Shanghai Ruyi, which means that Wang Jianlin will completely withdraw from the ranks of Wanda Investment's shareholders. Although Wang Jianlin still holds 1021% of the shares, but Shanghai Ruyi became the controlling shareholder of Wanda Films.
Why did Wang Jianlin choose to sell the equity of Wanda Investment?This may have something to do with Wanda's current predicament. Wanda Commercial Management, the core enterprise of Wanda Group, has a debt of more than 100 billion yuan and is facing huge debt repayment pressure. In addition, the "VAM agreement" signed by Wang Jianlin and investors requires Wanda Commercial Management to complete the IPO in 2023, otherwise it needs to buy back the ** in the hands of the war investors and pay high interest. At present, there is less than a month left until the end of 2023, and it may be very difficult for Wanda Commercial Management to complete the goal. This means that Wanda will face tens of billions of yuan in cash repayment pressure, and the current financial position is difficult to meet this demand.
In order to alleviate the group's liquidity pressure, Wang Jianlin had to ** important assets. In recent months, Wanda has repeatedly ** assets related to Wanda films. In addition to the previously mentioned sale of 49% of Wanda Investment's shares to Shanghai Ruxian, Wanda Investment also transferred 1800 million shares of Wanda Films. In addition, Wanda has also actively negotiated with creditors to extend the debt repayment period, which has provided some help to alleviate liquidity pressure.
Wanda's asset-light operation has not been able to free it from the impact of the real estate winter. As a core subsidiary of Wanda Group, Wanda Commercial Management is facing huge debts and insufficient cash flow. According to the financial report, Wanda Commercial Management has 9 onshore bonds, totaling 690.2 billion yuan, of which the scale due within one year is 187.8 billion yuan;There are 3 offshore US dollar bonds, with a total amount of US$1.3 billion, or about 9.3 billion yuan. At the same time, Wanda Commercial Management's current liabilities exceeded 100 billion yuan, while the monetary funds on the account were only 13.3 billion yuan, facing huge debt repayment pressure.
Although Wanda has sold some of its assets to ease liquidity pressures, the challenges remain severe. Wanda Commercial Management negotiated with creditors to extend the debt repayment period, as well as to carry out actions such as asset disposal and cash-out, in order to obtain the required liquidity. However, these measures are only a temporary solution, and the real question is whether Wanda Commercial Management can negotiate with strategic investors to solve the problem of repurchasing debt.
This is not the first time Wanda Group has faced significant financial pressure. In 2017, Wanda suffered a debt crisis and had to make important assets to help the group tide over the difficulties. Sunac and R&F bought Wanda's cultural tourism projects and hotel assets, respectively, which became one of the ways Wanda weathered the crisis.
However, today's predicament is not exactly the same as it was in the past. Buyers such as Sunac and R&F are facing difficulties themselves and are unable to provide assistance again. Wanda has little other support to find at the moment, and is on its own to defuse the crisis. In short, despite Wanda's financial challenges, the wealth of Wang Jianlin and his son is still above that of the vast majority of people, and their quality of life will not be affected too much.
This article describes the situation of Wanda Film's change of ownership and the reasons for Wang Jianlin's equity. The article points out that Wanda is currently facing financial difficulties and needs to solve the problem of huge debt and insufficient cash flow. In order to alleviate liquidity pressure, Wang Jianlin had to ** important assets. However, the current challenges cannot be ignored and the need to negotiate debt buybacks with strategic investors. Finally, the article summarizes Wanda's historical crises and current predicaments, and emphasizes the fact that Wang Jianlin and his son still have extraordinary wealth.