The woes keep piling on for Wanda Group, the former highflyer that hoped to transform from its roots as a real estate developer to a diversified entertainment giant to rival Disney.
The cash-strapped company has embarked on a series of fund-raising exercises over the last two years, mostly asset sales, as it attempts to pay down massive debt accumulated during a supercharged expansion and acquisition spree in headier times.
But investors weren’t buying into the latest such exercise, which saw Wanda make a New York IPO for its sports unit. After raising $190 million through that share sale, which was already far less than its original target, Wanda Sports Group’s new stock proceeded to tank 35.5% in its first day of trading on the Nasdaq.
Meanwhile, sources are saying Wanda is trying to raise more cash through the sale of a stake in its Legendary Entertainment studio, the company behind the “Godzilla” franchise. Unnamed sources told Bloomberg the talks with U.S. private equity firm Colony Capital could value Legendary significantly less than the $3.5 billion Wanda paid for the studio in 2016 at the height of its buying spree.
– This article originally appeared on Caixin Global.
