An ongoing drama in the board room of a Spanish company that has seen the overthrow of its co-chairman and three directors appointed by Chinese shareholder HNA Group signals a new kind of challenge faced by Chinese companies seeking to go global through aggressive mergers and acquisitions while sticking to a Chinese style of management control.
The odd situation that has left mainland aviation and property conglomerate HNA stripped of board representation at Spain’s NH Hotel Group – where it remains the largest shareholder with a 29.5 per cent stake – comes after 60 per cent of NH shareholders last week voted out three directors appointed by HNA including former company co-chairman and chairman of the board Charles Bromwell Mobus, while chief executive Federico González Tejera was removed from his company directorship at a later board meeting.
NH’s second largest shareholder Oceanwood Capital, a British private fund, motioned the vote because it considered HNA’s pending acquisition of the Carlson-Rezidor hotel group a “conflict of interest”. HNA in April agreed to buy Carlson Hotels, which owns the Radisson chain and a majority stake in Brussels-based Rezidor Hotel Group, for an undisclosed sum.
The “dramatic turn of events” is a result of the Chinese conglomerate being too acquisitive in recent months and could be the start of more troubles to come, said Michel Brekelmans, co-head of LEK Consulting in China.