HNA Group headquarters in Haikou, Hainan.

HNA Group has sold its shares in gategroup Holding AG to Asian investment firm RRJ Capital.

RRJ Capital, which focuses on private equity investments in China and Southeast Asia, has agreed to purchase all outstanding shares in the airline catering and onboard retail provider.

Singapore’s Temasek Holdings remains an investor in gategroup via a mandatory exchangeable bond.

The transaction expects to complete this month. The value was not disclosed.

‘SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS’

Xavier Rossinyol, CEO of gategroup said: “We are absolutely delighted to work with RRJ Capital and Temasek going forward as they contribute their expertise, network and growth track record to gategroup.

“We are pleased that two reputed global investors have recognised the value in gategroup and our future growth potential. Gategroup has made significant progress thanks to the excellent support of the HNA Group leadership team and the guidance of [CEO] Adam Tan.

“We are grateful for their support in progressing our Gateway 2020 strategy which we defined in 2015 and has allowed us to achieve exceptional performance for the fourth consecutive year, including an all-time high in revenue and EBITDA in 2018.”

Richard Ong, Founder and Chairman of RRJ Capital and member of gategroup’s Board of Directors added: “This marks another milestone for RRJ Capital and Temasek and is a natural next step following from our initial investment in the company in 2018.

“Over the past three years gategroup has, thanks to its strong management team, made swift progress on the implementation of their successful Gateway 2020 Strategy. We look forward to supporting their growth aspirations.”

Chen Feng, Chairman, HNA Group. Source: Wikipedia/WTTC.

HNA MAKES MANAGEMENT CHANGES

Last week, the debt-laden Chinese conglomerate announced updates to its leadership structure to refocus and streamline the business.

He Jiafu, Chairman of HNA Logistics, joins the HNA Group Board of Directors, having previously served as a non-executive member.

Eric Tong has stood down as a member of the HNA Group Board of Directors and General Manager of the HNA Technology business unit.

Replacing Tong is long-standing HNA Group employee Li Weijian, Vice General Manager of the HNA Technology business unit, who will be responsible for daily operations, asset management and compliance.

Wang Donghui has also stood down from his position as a member of the HNA Group Board of Supervisors.

Adam Tan, CEO of HNA Group, said: “These management adjustments will support our efforts to grow as a modern aviation service provider. We are grateful for the years of hard work and commitment to HNA demonstrated by these executives.

Chen Feng, Chairman of HNA Group added: “We continue to make adjustments that reflect our ongoing commitment to streamline our organisation, meet our financial obligations, solidify our infrastructure to drive long-term growth, and ensure we support our portfolio companies in continuing to provide the high quality, reliable global services our customers have come to expect from us.”