New Zealand Stock Markets
HNA’s bid to buy ANZ’s New Zealand asset finance arm UDC Finance for NZ$660m ($463m) has been scuppered by New Zealand’s overseas investment watchdog.
ANZ’s sale of UDC was announced in January as part of the bank’s effort to complete $3 billion worth of disposals, mostly in Asia. However, New Zealand’s Overseas Investment Office has declined the Chinese airlines-to-financing conglomerate’s application after regulators were unable to verify who controlled HNA.
Without knowing who the relevant overseas person is, the OIO cannot be satisfied that section 18 has been met, therefore we are unable to grant consent.” HNA has done more than $40bn in deals over the past three years but analysts, including the rating agency S&P, have expressed concern about the group’s high leverage and access to funding.
The company has long-term debt of Rmb382.8bn ($58bn) as of June 30, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, with net debt 6.5 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation.
However, questions over its shareholding structure and ultimate owners have dogged the company in recent years.
Earlier this month, US-based software group Ness Technologies filed a complaint with the Supreme Court of the State of New York against HNA and its Beijing-based IT outsourcing unit Pactera.
The complaint states that discrepancies among HNA’s reports of its ownership structure led to questions from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (Cfius), scuppering the acquisition.
ANZ, which on Monday said it would buy back A$1.5bn ($1.2bn) shares following a series of divestments of non-core businesses this year, said the OIO decision will have “no impact” on that buyback.
ANZ shares were down 0.7 per cent in Sydney while the broader S&P/ASX 200 was off 0.3 per cent.
ANZ’s sale of UDC was announced in January as part of the bank’s effort to complete $3 billion worth of disposals, mostly in Asia. However, New Zealand’s Overseas Investment Office has declined the Chinese airlines-to-financing conglomerate’s application after regulators were unable to verify who controlled HNA.
Without knowing who the relevant overseas person is, the OIO cannot be satisfied that section 18 has been met, therefore we are unable to grant consent.” HNA has done more than $40bn in deals over the past three years but analysts, including the rating agency S&P, have expressed concern about the group’s high leverage and access to funding.
The company has long-term debt of Rmb382.8bn ($58bn) as of June 30, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, with net debt 6.5 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation.
However, questions over its shareholding structure and ultimate owners have dogged the company in recent years.
Earlier this month, US-based software group Ness Technologies filed a complaint with the Supreme Court of the State of New York against HNA and its Beijing-based IT outsourcing unit Pactera.
The complaint states that discrepancies among HNA’s reports of its ownership structure led to questions from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (Cfius), scuppering the acquisition.
ANZ, which on Monday said it would buy back A$1.5bn ($1.2bn) shares following a series of divestments of non-core businesses this year, said the OIO decision will have “no impact” on that buyback.
ANZ shares were down 0.7 per cent in Sydney while the broader S&P/ASX 200 was off 0.3 per cent.
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