Rating agency S&P has warned that HNA Group’s aggressive financing structures are damaging its creditworthiness, adding to a chorus of concerns about the finances of China’s most prolific overseas dealmaker.
The comments come a day after HNA subsidiary Gategroup confirmed that it was exploring a public listing, despite Switzerland’s takeover watchdog — citing several articles in the Financial Times — censuring its Chinese owner for providing “untrue or incomplete” information when it acquired the air services company in 2016.
A global deal spree in excess of $40bn has turned HNA from a little-known domestic airline operator on the southern Chinese island of Hainan into one of the most visible private Chinese companies in the world, with large stakes in Deutsche Bank and Hilton Worldwide.