Li Ning Considers Taking Company Private, 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 just a few years after retiring from a embellished gymnastics profession in 1988. He owns barely greater than 10 % of the corporate, its 2023 interim report confirmed.

A lot of world and regional personal fairness companies, together with TPG, PAG and Hillhouse Funding, have been tapped to see if they’re thinking 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 knowledge was confidential. Li Ning made its Hong Kong debut in 2004.

The corporate’s shares jumped as a lot as 19 % 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 obtained 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 12 months amid China’s financial slowdown, a scarcity of robust stimulus insurance policies, and geopolitical tensions.

Hong Kong’s Dangle Seng index slumped 14 % in 2023, whereas China’s benchmark CSI 300 index fell 11 %.

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

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

Li Ning Co was the worst-performing blue-chip inventory on the Hong Kong bourse prior to now 12 months, down 68 % as of Tuesday, LSEG knowledge confirmed. That compares with a 25 % drop in principal rival Anta Sports activities.

Li was thought to be 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 could 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, based on Citigroup analysts.

Within the announcement, the corporate’s board mentioned it believed its present share value was “under 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 Bet

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