Embattled HNA Group Co. Ltd. has received court approval for its restructuring plan just days after its creditors gave their OK, clearing two major hurdles for the debt-ridden conglomerate to move forward with the bankruptcy reorganization that began earlier this year.
In its ruling Sunday, the Hainan High People's Court approved four separate restructuring plans, one each for its airline, airport, and retail businesses, as well as one for the conglomerate itself, according to a company WeChat post (link in Chinese).
About a week earlier, HNA's creditors voted to approve the debt restructuring plans, the company said in a separate WeChat post (link in Chinese). Under these plans, Hainan Airlines Holding Co. Ltd. (600221.SH) and 10 affiliates will repay 161.3 billion yuan ($25 billion) of the roughly 400 billion yuan sought by their 4,915 creditors. HNA Infrastructure Investment Group Co. Ltd. (600515.SH) and its 20 subsdiaries (link in Chinese) will repay 95.2 billion yuan of the 189 billion yuan sought by 3,242 creditors. And HNA's retail unit (link in Chinese) will pay back 23.6 billion yuan of the more than 33 billion yuan demanded by over 5,600 creditors. Only a portion of the debt will be repaid in cash, according to the plans.