HNA facing lender questions on US$1bil CWT deal

SINGAPORE: HNA Group Co, the acquisitive Chinese conglomerate, is facing additional questions from banks working on financing its proposed US$1bil takeover of Singapore logistics operator CWT Ltd, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Firms including Malayan Banking Bhd and RHB Bank Bhd, which are preparing a loan package to back the acquisition, have been seeking more information from HNA in recent weeks, the people said. The lenders started scrutinising HNA’s leverage ratios more closely to assess how much debt they can provide, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.