PAG has made one of the largest private equity investments in China this year, committing about $2.8bn to take control of a mall-operations business developed by Dalian Wanda Group, according to a report by Bloomberg. In the biggest cross-border deal in China’s commercial real estate sector since 2021, the firm has helped put together $6.3bn for a fund composed of some of the malls.
The Hong Kong-based firm is betting that a gradual recovery in consumption will help support the struggling sector. Hard times had forced Dalian Wanda to slim down and reduce its exposure to the real estate market, selling assets such as theme parks, and Hollywood producer Legendary Entertainment.
In its purchase of a portfolio of Dalian Wanda’s malls, PAG has received backing from Sunshine Life Insurance Corp, Tencent, and a vehicle backed by JD.com Inc. Adidas and Nike are among the tenants in the malls.
