Wanda sells resorts for $9.27bn

Dalian Wanda Group said on Monday it will sell its recently opened string of mega-resorts in China to real estate company Sunac for 63.1 billion yuan ($9.27 billion), as it offloads assets in a drive to transform from its property-developer roots into a diversified entertainment company. The move surprised many observers since Wanda had previously given no indication that it wanted to sell the highly trumpeted mega projects in 13 cities, some costing $1 billion or more. But according to Caixin the company may be looking to pay down debt incurred from the massive projects, along with a number of costly overseas acquisitions worth billions of dollars over the last five years. At the same time, the company’s $5 billion privatization of its formerly Hong Kong-listed real estate unit may have stalled, potentially leaving Wanda founder Wang Jianlin in need of cash to pay back the buyout’s backers.