Dalian Wanda sells majority stake to rival Sunac China for $9.3bn

The Hong Kong-traded shares of Wanda Hotel Development shot up 145% on Monday morning on news that Chinese property giant Dalian Wanda Group would sell a majority stake in many of its theme parks and hotels in the country to rival developer Sunac China for $9.3bn.

Yet none of the establishments being hived off were included under that entity, so that by the end of trade Wanda Hotel's stock had pared its gains to 46.55%.

Dalian Wanda announced Sunac would pay 63.2bn yuan ($9.3bn) for 76 Wanda hotels, as well as taking a 91% stake in 13 of Wanda's tourism projects in China, which usually include theme parks and leisure complexes.

Among the projects included in the deal were the Nanchang Wanda City, which the company opened last year and that Wanda chairman Wang Jianlin had talked up as a competitor to Disneyland Shanghai.

Wanda's need to cut its debt pile was seen as the main reason for the sale, with owner Wang Jianlin having reportedly said all the proceeds from the sale would be used to pay down the company's liabilities.

Indeed, last December ratings agency Standard&Poor's downgraded the Wanda Commercial's bonds to just one notch above so-called 'junk' status.

The transaction was also seen aiding Wanda's case for a mainland listing after its property unit delisted from Hong Kong last year.

For Sunac, the transaction would provide it with a wide portfolio of tourism developments at a time when it was spending billions in a bid to diversify away from residential real estate.

The news also came a year after the group's chairman boasted he would drive Disneyland out of China.

Nonetheless, some observers were wary that Sunac might have bitten off too much this time, having already spent over $12bn during the past year.