CITIC Group, the parent company of the Hong Kong–listed CITIC, is in talks with China Energy Finance Corp. (CEFC) to purchase a portfolio that includes luxury hotels, a football club, a brewery and a broadcaster in Czech Republic for $980 million, according to the South China Morning Post, which cited two people familiar with the offer.
CEFC is an active investor in the Czech Republic. Via its subsidiary CEFC Europe, the company owns Travel Service, an airline that owns the flag carrier Czech Airlines, brewery group Lobkowicz, machinery firm Zdas; soccer club Slavia Prague and other properties.
The sale is part of the firm’s lowering its debt due to a previous buying spree over the years, which has caused the Chinese government to intervene. In August, Beijing started a probe of CEFC China’s subsidiary, CEFC Auhui International Holding, for making false statements in its 2017 annual report.
Other firms like Anbang Group and HNA Grouphave made headlines over their high-priced overseas acquisitions but have been forced by the government to sell these assets, as well..
