Bain Capital is exploring a potential investment in Hong Kong’s New World Development Co. as the embattled property company seeks ways to pay down its heavy debt burden, people with knowledge of the matter said. The private equity firm has been studying a deal that could also involve New World’s controlling Cheng family injecting fresh capital. Discussions are ongoing, with no certainty Bain will proceed.
Shares of New World were volatile in Friday trading, erasing earlier losses on news of the talks before trading down 2.3% at 3:43 p.m. in Hong Kong. New World’s total debt was about HK$143 billion ($18 billion) at the end of June. A portion of that debt is due in 2028.
The company recently took a HK$18.3 billion writedown from scrapping the 11 Skies retail and office complex, contributing to its third annual loss in a row. Bain declined to comment, while New World and the Cheng family did not respond to requests for comment.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing