HNA Completes $1.05 Billion Purchase of GE Container Leasing Arm
HNA Completes $1.05 Billion Purchase of GE Container Leasing Arm
Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) — HNA Group, a Chinese investor in aviation and shipping, and Bravia Capital completed the $1.05 billion acquisition of General Electric Co.’s GE SeaCo venture, the world’s fifth largest container-leasing enterprise.
All “key” SeaCo managers, including Chief Executive Officer David G. Amble, will remain with the company, according to a statement. The purchase includes container fleets owned separately by GE and partner SeaCo Ltd., for a total of about 870,000 20-foot equivalancy units, the standard industry measure.
The Chinese company is pressing ahead with the purchase of lessor GE SeaCo after walking away from a 330 million euro ($429 million) investment in Spanish hotel chain NH Hoteles SA. HNA cited market conditions for its decision this week to abandon the hotel deal at a cost of $15 million in compensation.
HNA and Bravia plan to expand GE SeaCo’s container fleet “significantly” during the next two years, they said in August, as rising shipments of Asian-made goods to Europe and the U.S. boosts demand for cargo boxes. Fairfield, Connecticut- based GE is selling the unit as it sheds finance assets to focus on industrial operations.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jasmine Wang in Hong Kong at jwang513@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Neil Denslow at ndenslow@bloomberg.net
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