海航在最後時刻放棄佳美集團上市
Chinese conglomerate HNA’s efforts to strengthen its finances have been dealt a blow with the collapse of plans to raise up to SFr1.3bn ($1.37bn) by listing Gategroup, the Swiss airline catering business it acquired less than two years ago.
HNA planned to float up to 65 per cent of Gategroup on the Swiss stock exchange today, but just hours before trading was due to start, the listing was abandoned after potential investors apparently baulked at the proposed terms.
海航原計劃今日在瑞士證交所上市佳美集團至少65%的股份，但在交易開始幾小時前，這一上市計劃被放棄，原因是潛在投資者顯然對提議的條款望而卻步。The failure of the initial public offering highlighted wariness about taking stakes in companies alongside HNA, although bankers close to the deal said it also flopped because of the price.
首次公開發行(IPO)失敗凸顯出，人們對於跟海航一起在企業持股抱有戒心，儘管接近這筆交易的銀行家們表示，價格也是釀成此次失敗的因素。
“There was too big a gap in valuation between their expectations,” said one person close to the deal.
“他們對於估值的預期分歧太大了，”一位知情人士表示。HNA has an estimated $20bn in debt maturing this year or next. The company has sold some assets and extended credit arrangements with banks which — until the Gategroup setback — had helped it navigate a turbulent first three months of the year.
海航在今、明年將有約200億美元的債務到期。該公司已出售了一些資產，並延長了與銀行達成的信貸安排——在佳美集團上市受挫之前，這些銀行曾幫助海航挺過了今年頭三個月的動盪局面。The IPO’s collapse also cast doubt on whether HNA would push ahead with separate plans to raise money from a public offering of shares from aviation services group Swissport.
IPO失敗也讓人懷疑海航是否會推進另一個計劃，即通過瑞士空港(Swissport)的公開募股來籌資。That listing could prove even more challenging than Gategroup’s because Swissport’s finances are more intertwined with its Chinese parent, due to a series of short-term loans the Swiss group has made to HNA affiliates.
讓瑞士空港上市甚至可能比佳美集團上市更具挑戰性，因爲瑞士空港向海航關聯企業提供了一系列短期貸款，導致其財務狀況與中國母公司之間在更大程度上攪在一起。“Gategroup has a much cleaner structure and is significantly lower leveraged than Swissport,” said one bond investor.
“佳美集團的結構更爲清晰，而且其槓桿率顯著低於瑞士空港，”一名債券投資者說。Swissport yesterday reaffirmed its intention to seek an IPO in the second quarter of this year. Preparations were “well on track”, it said.
瑞士空港昨日重申，有意在今年第二季度進行IPO。它表示，準備工作正在“全面推進”。
