SWI swissinfo.ch: HNA Weighs $1 Billion Sale of Aircraft Maintenance Firm SR Technics

Front page - SWI swissinfo.ch


HNA Weighs $1 Billion Sale of Aircraft Maintenance Firm SR Technics
This content was published on February 18, 2019 3:37 AM Feb 18, 2019 - 03:37

Workers arrange barricades in front of a Boeing Co. 787-9 aircraft operated by Hainan Airlines Co. at the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, China, on Monday, Oct. 31, 2016. The biannual air show runs from November 1 to 6.
(bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- HNA Group Co., the embattled Chinese conglomerate, is exploring options for Swiss aircraft-maintenance firm SR Technics including a potential sale, people familiar with the matter said.

The Chinese group, which grew out of an airline on tropical Hainan island, is working with an adviser on the potential disposal, the people said. HNA’s 80 percent stake in SR Technics could be valued at $700 million to $1 billion, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.

Though HNA began its selling spree with sales of property and other peripheral businesses, the Chinese conglomerate has started unloading assets close to its core aviation operations. As it seeks to trim one of China’s biggest debt piles, HNA is aiming to sell airport-cargo handler Swissport International as well as container-leasing business Seaco, Bloomberg News has reported.

SR Technics business could be hurt as the airlines it services face increasing pressure, according to one of the people. Air Berlin Plc, one of SR Technics’s customers, filed for insolvency last year amid fierce competition and volatile oil prices.

No final decision has been made, and HNA could still decide to pursue other options for SR Technics or retain its ownership of the company, the people said. Representatives for HNA and SR Technics declined to comment.

Based in Zurich airport, SR Technics has more than 3,000 employees globally and provides maintenance, repair and overhaul services for airframes, engines and components, its website shows.

HNA bought its controlling stake in the company from Mubadala Development Co. in 2016 for an undisclosed sum, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Abu Dhabi government-backed investment fund retains the remaining stake.

(Updates with details of HNA’s asset disposal strategy in third paragraph.)

--With assistance from Dinesh Nair.

To contact the reporter on this story: Manuel Baigorri in Hong Kong at mbaigorri@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Scent at bscent@bloomberg.net, Timothy Sifert, Young-Sam Cho

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Tags

    Business

Neuer Inhalt

Horizontal Line
SWI swissinfo.ch on Instagram

SWI swissinfo.ch on Instagram
SWI swissinfo.ch on Instagram
subscription form

Form for signing up for free newsletter.

Sign up for our free newsletters and get the top stories delivered to your inbox.
Email address
Top stories (weekly)
Latest news (daily)
Business (weekly)
Politics (weekly)
Society (weekly)
Fintech (biweekly)
Multinationals (biweekly)

Click here to see more newsletters
Footer

    The company
    Partnerships
    Imprint
    Jobs
    Play SWI
    Newsletter subscription
    Contact

World partners

    Radio România Internaţional
    Radio Canada International
    Radio Praha
    Polskie Radio

Business Units SRG

    RTS SRF RSI RTR SWI

Follow us

Front page - SWI swissinfo.ch
swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR