Li Ning Considers Taking Firm Personal, Sources Say

Chinese language billionaire entrepreneur and Olympic champion Li Ning is contemplating taking his namesake sportswear firm personal from the Hong Kong inventory alternate, 4 folks mentioned, including to a string of such potential offers in a faltering market.

Li is contemplating main a consortium to purchase out Li Ning Co Ltd, which had a market capitalisation of HK$52.85 billion ($6.8 billion) as of Monday, mentioned the folks, who’ve data of the matter.

Li, 61, based Li Ning Co a number of years after retiring from a embellished gymnastics profession in 1988. He owns barely greater than 10 p.c of the corporate, its 2023 interim report confirmed.

Quite a few world and regional personal fairness corporations, together with TPG, PAG and Hillhouse Funding, have been tapped to see if they’re curious about becoming a member of as an investor, two of the folks mentioned.

The discussions to take Li Ning Co personal are within the early phases and particulars haven’t been finalised, mentioned the sources, who declined to be recognized as the data was confidential. Li Ning made its Hong Kong debut in 2004.

The corporate’s shares jumped as a lot as 19 p.c to HK$24.3 following the Reuters report — their highest since November.

Beijing-headquartered Li Ning Co mentioned in a response to Reuters that it had “not acquired any data concerning this matter as of now.”

Li didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark despatched through the corporate.

TPG, PAG and Hillhouse declined to remark.

Inventory markets in Hong Kong and Mainland China have tanked over the previous yr amid China’s financial slowdown, a scarcity of sturdy stimulus insurance policies, and geopolitical tensions.

Hong Kong’s Cling Seng index slumped 14 p.c in 2023, whereas China’s benchmark CSI 300 index fell 11 p.c.

Li feels his firm is undervalued in Hong Kong and would goal a hefty premium over its present share worth in a possible buyout, two of the sources mentioned.

He didn’t have an imminent plan to relist his firm again house, one in every of them added.

Li Ning Co was the worst-performing blue-chip inventory on the Hong Kong bourse up to now yr, down 68 p.c as of Tuesday, LSEG knowledge confirmed. That compares with a 25 p.c drop in important rival Anta Sports activities.

Li was considered China’s “gymnastics prince” after successful six of the seven gold medals on the 1982 World Cup Gymnastic Competitors, and carried on to win six medals on the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Video games.

Li Ning Co mentioned in December it will purchase a Hong Kong business and retail property from Henderson Land for HK$2.21 billion as its Hong Kong headquarters, which despatched its shares to a three-and-a-half-year low on the day of the announcement.

Li additionally mentioned on the time he deliberate to repurchase as much as HK$3 billion worth of shares from the open market within the subsequent 6 months, his first such transfer in its company historical past, in accordance with Citigroup analysts.

Within the announcement, the corporate’s board mentioned it believed its present share worth was “beneath its intrinsic precise worth.”

By Julie Zhu and Kane Wu; Editors: Sumeet Chatterjee and Stephen Coates

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Li Ning Plunges on $282 Million HK Property Guess

Li Ning Co Ltd. shares tumbled as buyers disapproved of the Chinese language sportswear maker’s plan to purchase a business constructing in Hong Kong, with some analysts saying the transfer was not the perfect use of capital.