Nearly 3.9 billion yuan has "stumped" Wang Jianlin and his good friends.
Wang Jianlin, the former richest man in China, and his good friend Sun Xishuang have been "chased for debt" by Yonghui again.
On May 21st, Yonghui Superstores issued an announcement stating that in the arbitration case between the company, Dalian Yujin, Wang Jianlin, Sun Xishuang, and Dalian Yifang Group, the arbitration award made by the Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission has come into effect.
After the company applied to the court for enforcement, the court issued a "Case Acceptance Notice" and decided to initiate the enforcement process.
It is reported that the amount involved in this case includes the remaining share transfer price of 3.639 billion yuan, relevant liquidated damages, legal fees, arbitration fees and other expenses, totaling nearly 3.9 billion yuan.
The reason why Yonghui Superstores has "fallen out" with other parties is that Dalian Yujin failed to fulfill its payment obligations as agreed, and Wang Jianlin, Sun Xishuang, and Dalian Yifang Group also failed to assume their guarantee responsibilities.
In fact, Wang Jianlin, as a guarantor, has not had an easy time in recent years. Due to the failure of Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management to list on the stock market as scheduled, Wang Jianlin once faced the pressure of a gambling agreement and had to embark on the path of "selling everything".
According to public data, the total liabilities of Wanda Group are as high as tens of billions of yuan. Wanda Commercial Management has interest - bearing liabilities of over 100 billion yuan, and the debts due within one year exceed 30 billion yuan.
In the "Hurun Global Rich List 2026" released in March this year, the wealth of Wang Jianlin's family has dropped to 10 billion yuan, far less than its peak.
Yonghui Superstores Chases Nearly 3.9 Billion in Debt, and the Court Decides to Initiate Enforcement
On May 21st, Yonghui Superstores disclosed the latest progress of the arbitration case between it, Dalian Yujin, Wang Jianlin, Sun Xishuang, and Dalian Yifang Group.
The arbitration award document No. Shangguozhong (2024) No. 3170 made by the Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission has come into legal effect. After Yonghui Superstores applied to the court for enforcement, the court issued a "Case Acceptance Notice" and decided to initiate the enforcement process.
The announcement shows that the amount involved in this case includes: the remaining share transfer price of 3.639 billion yuan, relevant liquidated damages, legal fees, arbitration fees and other expenses, totaling approximately 3.861 billion yuan.
Yonghui Superstores stated that the amount of the execution proceeds from this case is uncertain, and it is temporarily impossible to determine the impact on the company's current or future profits. The company will fulfill its corresponding information disclosure obligations in a timely manner according to the relevant progress.
At the same time, Yonghui Superstores also emphasized that this arbitration matter will not affect the company's normal production and business activities.
Tianyancha shows that Dalian Yujin Trading Co., Ltd. was established in November 2023 and is wholly - owned by Dalian Yifang Group, controlled by Sun Xishuang, through Beijing Yifang Mingshi Information Technology Co., Ltd.
Sun Xishuang is Wang Jianlin's core friend and important partner for many years. The two have had long - term and in - depth cooperation in multiple fields such as real estate and cultural tourism.
According to China Real Estate News, Sun Xishuang once said in an interview with the media that he began to invest in Wanda in 1993 and evaluated Wang Jianlin as a person who does practical things. "I invested in the Wanda enterprise because I invested in Wang Jianlin himself."
In 2002, Wanda initiated privatization. Dalian Wanda Real Estate General Company transferred 30 million shares it held to Beijing Hexing Investment Co., Ltd. controlled by Sun Xishuang at a transfer price of 50 million yuan. At the same time, shareholder Huaxin Trust also transferred 6 million shares it held to Beijing Hexing.
After that, their cooperation became even closer. In 2004, Dalian Yifang and Wanda jointly built the Beijing CBD Wanda Plaza. In 2007, Wanda Cinema entered the Beijing Longde Plaza developed by Dalian Yifang.
In 2009, the two parties joined hands again and jointly invested in multiple cultural and tourism projects, including the Changbaishan International Tourism Resort, Dalian Jinshi International Cultural and Tourism Area, and Xishuangbanna International Resort, with a total investment scale of over 100 billion yuan.
In 2010, Sun Xishuang invested in Wanda Cinemas (the predecessor of Wanda Film) and became the natural person shareholder second only to Wang Jianlin with a shareholding ratio of 4.2%.
In 2011, Dalian Yifang Group moved its headquarters to Beijing. The headquarters address is the same as that of Wanda Group, located in Wanda Plaza at No. 93, Jianguo Road, Chaoyang District.
In December 2014, Wanda Commercial rang the listing bell on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and Sun Xishuang was the only natural person shareholder with a shareholding of over 5% at that time, with a shareholding ratio of 6.3%.
The Dispute over the Transfer Payment Has Lasted for a Long Time, and over 3.6 Billion Has Not Been Received
The dispute between Yonghui Superstores and Dalian Yujin can be traced back to 2023. At that time, Yonghui Superstores was deeply mired in a performance quagmire, with a net loss of 8 billion yuan in the mother - company's net profit over three years.
In order to revitalize its existing assets and recover funds, Yonghui Superstores decided to sell the shares of Dalian Wanda Commercial Management Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Wanda Commercial Management") that it had invested in earlier.
In December of that year, Yonghui Superstores signed a "Share Transfer Agreement" with Dalian Yujin. Yonghui Superstores sold 389 million shares of Wanda Commercial Management it held (corresponding to 65 million shares of the company before the capital increase and share expansion on August 25, 2023) to Dalian Yujin at a transfer price of 4.53 billion yuan, which was to be paid by Dalian Yujin in eight installments.
At the end of 2023, the first - installment payment of 300 million yuan from Dalian Yujin arrived as scheduled. However, the second and third - installment transfer payments were continuously overdue. Dalian Yujin applied for an extension on the grounds of "short - term capital turnover difficulties".
Subsequently, the two parties sat at the negotiation table again and signed a "Supplementary Agreement". The remaining unpaid 3.839 billion yuan was re - divided into eight installments (specifically from the third to the tenth installments, and the third installment was fully paid before June 30, 2024), and the payment deadline for the last installment was extended to March 31, 2026.
In addition to adjusting the installment payment schedule for the purchaser to pay the remaining share transfer price, this "Supplementary Agreement" also added Wang Jianlin, Sun Xishuang, and Dalian Yifang Group as guarantors for the transaction.
By July 26, 2024, Yonghui Superstores had received a total of 891 million yuan in share transfer prices, with the remaining share transfer price totaling 3.639 billion yuan, and the remaining number of shares to be transferred was 310 million.
However, on September 30, 2024, the agreed payment time for the fourth - installment share transfer price, Dalian Yujin did not pay the agreed 300 million yuan for that period.
In view of the fact that Dalian Yujin failed to fulfill its payment obligations as agreed, and Wang Jianlin, Sun Xishuang, and Dalian Yifang Group also failed to assume their guarantee responsibilities, Yonghui Superstores subsequently filed an arbitration application with the Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission.
On October 12, 2024, Yonghui Superstores received the acceptance notice from the Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission.
On April 13 this year, the Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission issued an "Arbitration Award (Shangguozhong (2024) No. 3170)".
The arbitration result shows that Dalian Yujin must pay Yonghui Superstores the remaining share transfer price of 3.639 billion yuan, accelerated - maturity liquidated damages of 218 million yuan, legal fees of 2 million yuan, property preservation fees of 45,000 yuan, and property preservation insurance fees of 1.78 million yuan, totaling approximately 3.861 billion yuan.
Guarantors such as Wang Jianlin, Sun Xishuang, and Dalian Yifang Group must assume joint and several guarantee responsibilities and bear the arbitration fees of 180 million yuan for this case together with Dalian Yujin.
On May 6th, when the performance period of the above - mentioned arbitration award had expired, the above - mentioned respondents were actively communicating with Yonghui Superstores about fulfilling the payment obligations determined by the arbitration award, but Yonghui Superstores still had not received the payments that the respondents should make.
In view of this, Yonghui Superstores hopes to apply for compulsory enforcement through legal channels and dispose of the preserved property of the respondents in accordance with the law.
It's Easy to Delist but Hard to List, and Wang Jianlin Embarks on the Path of "Selling Everything"
In fact, Wanda Commercial Management was once considered the highest - quality and most core asset of Wanda Group. Its predecessor, Wanda Commercial, was once the world's largest physical commercial giant, managing more than 400 Wanda Plazas, more than 100 hotels, and multiple large - scale cultural and tourism projects.
In December 2014, Wanda Commercial listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, becoming the largest IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that year. However, on the first day of listing, its stock price broke below the issue price.
According to Yicai Global, before delisting in 2016, Wanda's stock price was mostly lower than the issue price. This situation made Wang Jianlin and investors frustrated, and Wanda internally believed that the Hong Kong stock market seriously underestimated its commercial value.
So, in March 2016, Wanda Commercial delisted from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and simultaneously initiated the process of returning to the A - share market.
At that time, in order to successfully complete the privatization, Wang Jianlin offered an attractive price - HK$52.8 per share, and the offer price was as high as HK$34.45 billion (approximately 29.2 billion yuan).
For this reason, Wanda invited Tencent as the main initiator and jointly signed a strategic investment agreement with Suning, JD.com, and Sunac with Wanda Commercial. They planned to invest approximately 34 billion yuan to acquire 14.39% of the shares held by the investors introduced when Wanda Commercial delisted from the Hong Kong H - shares.
Subsequently, in order to gain the favor of the A - share capital market, Wanda Commercial divested all real - estate - related businesses such as hotels and cultural and tourism projects, only retaining light - asset projects, and intended to return to the A - share market with a single commercial management format.
It was also during that time that in December 2018, Yonghui Superstores passed a motion to invest in Wanda. It planned to acquire 1.5% (i.e., 68 million shares) of Wanda Commercial Management's shares held by Dalian Yifang Group at a price of 52 yuan per share, with a total price of 3.531 billion yuan.
However, until 2021, Wanda Commercial Management failed to successfully enter the A - share market. So, Wang Jianlin turned his attention to the Hong Kong stock market again.
In March 2021, Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management was established and became the new entity for listing in Hong Kong. In August of the same year, Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management signed a share transfer agreement with 22 investors and received an investment of 38 billion yuan.
At that time, some investors signed a gambling agreement with Wanda Commercial Management. Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management needed to complete its listing by the end of 2023; otherwise, it had to pay the investors the equity repurchase price at an annual internal rate of return of 8%. According to the content disclosed in an inquiry letter from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, this part of the repurchase price was approximately 30 billion yuan.
However, Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management failed to ring the listing bell on the Hong Kong stock market within the time limit, and Wang Jianlin faced the pressure of the gambling agreement again. Under heavy pressure, Wang Jianlin even gave up the control of Wanda Commercial Management in order to obtain 60 billion yuan in "rescue funds".
In March 2024, five investors invested 60 billion yuan in the newly established Xindameng and held 60% of the shares. Xindameng became the holding company of Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management.
Although this move helped Wanda temporarily avoid the crisis of a large - scale trigger of the gambling agreement, there were many giants who were "trapped" due to their investment in Wanda in the early years.
In addition to Yonghui Superstores wanting to get back its "principal" because of its own difficulties, Suning and Sunac also respectively demanded that Wanda Group pay 5.04 billion yuan and 9.5 billion yuan in share repurchase prices.
Under the crisis, Wang Jianlin had to embark on the path of "selling everything". According to incomplete statistics, since 2023, Wanda has sold more than 80 Wanda Plazas in total.
Even Wanda Film, a high - quality asset that once carried Wang Jianlin's movie dream, was sold to Ke Liming, a new star in the film and television industry of Ruyi.
In addition, Wanda has also frequently sold its overseas assets. It not only cleared its equity in Legendary Entertainment in the United States but also sold the British luxury yacht manufacturer Sunseeker International at a price of approximately 160 million pounds.
However, after a series of "selling", Wanda's debt pressure is still significant. According to public information cited by 21st Century Business Herald, the total liabilities of Wanda Group are as high as tens of billions of yuan. Wanda Commercial Management has interest - bearing liabilities of over 100 billion yuan, and the debts due within one year exceed 30 billion yuan.
After multiple debt - chasing efforts, can Yonghui Superstores obtain this "long - disputed" transfer payment as expected? Radar Finance will continue to follow up.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Radar Finance". The author is Ding Yu, and the editor is Meng Shuai. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.