New World Development’s controlling shareholder, the billionaire Cheng family, is considering injecting capital into the debt-laden Hong Kong developer as early as the end of the year, according to people familiar with the matter.
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The family of Hong Kong tycoon Henry Cheng was willing to contribute about HK$10 billion (US$1.3 billion) and was seeking a partner that could provide a roughly similar amount for an equity stake, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. The plan under discussion would establish a joint venture to provide liquidity to New World, the people said. The talks were ongoing and details about the deal’s size and structure could change.
Blackstone and CapitaLand Group were among the firms engaged in the discussions, the people said. The two companies had also been in talks with New World to buy some of its assets, Bloomberg News reported earlier.
Despite securing a record US$11 billion loan-refinancing deal earlier this year, New World still needs more funding to help it cut debt and sustain its operations, as Hong Kong’s property sector remains in the doldrums. The company has been in talks over a potential Deutsche Bank AG-led loan deal, but missed a self-imposed target to complete the financing in mid-July. As of late last month, no bank had committed to the deal and the parties involved expected the talks to drag on, the people said.
Some potential investors involved in the talks had asked that the family offer its holdings in the Hong Kong-listed property firm as security to hedge against potential risks, or had demanded dividend returns for their equity investment, some of the sources said.
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It remained unclear whether the family would agree to any of the conditions, the people said. The potential investors were not willing to commit to a deal if the family would not provide capital, they added.