HNA Group and Bravia Capital Complete Acquisition of GE SeaCo

HONG KONG, December 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- World's 5th largest marine container leasing company is latest addition to the HNA portfolio, strengthening HNA's global leadership position in the transportation and logistics industry

HNA Group Company Limited (HNA) of China, a leading diversified services and integrated operations company, and Bravia Capital (Bravia) of Hong Kong, today announced the completion of the acquisition of GE SeaCo, the world's fifth largest marine container leasing company.   The company has been rebranded as "Seaco".  Seaco owns and manages over 870,000 20-foot equivalent units, the industry's standard measure, and now operates as a core business within HNA's existing logistics and finance operations.  All of Seaco's key management, including CEO David G. Amble, will remain with the company.  

The transaction includes the divestiture by GE Capital and SeaCo Ltd. of all of their interests in the business to be known as Seaco as well as fleets of containers they owned separately. The total enterprise value of the transaction is approximately US$ 2.5 billion. 

"Acquiring Seaco is a cornerstone of our strategy to expand our business in logistics and transportation," said Tan Xiangdong, Executive Director of HNA.  "It has been great to collaborate with both GE Capital's and GE SeaCo's management teams, given their deep insight and experience in the equipment leasing sector.  This acumen will prove crucial as we integrate Seaco into the HNA family of companies.   Our intention is to work with management to significantly grow this business over the next 24 months." 

"The GE SeaCo transaction underscores our successful track record of acquiring and integrating top-tier, asset-heavy businesses within the transportation and logistics sectors," said Bharat Bhise, CEO of Bravia Capital.  "The addition of a world-class business like Seaco represents a watershed event in our overall strategy to leverage our core competencies in transportation finance.  This is evidenced by the strong support we received in financing the purchase from a number of lenders during one of the most difficult debt markets in recent history.  We have now completed 7 investments totaling over US$ 7 billion in enterprise value over the past 2 years. I believe we are in a unique position of providing both liquidity and strategic value to well managed transportation businesses globally."

"We are pleased to be a critical component in HNA's growth strategy for transportation and logistics," said Seaco CEO David G. Amble.  "HNA's vision, support and expertise will help propel our business worldwide.  Feedback from our customers and our employees has been overwhelmingly positive, and all of our stakeholders are excited to begin a new chapter in our rich history."   "The retention of our entire employee/management team is an especially pleasing outcome of this transaction.  It will result in new growth opportunities for our employees and ensure that our valuable customer and supplier relationships will be maintained and enhanced," continued Mr. Amble.   "We believe that the company is entering a new era of opportunity and growth."

In addition to GE SeaCo, HNA and Bravia have recently completed several other key transportation sector acquisitions.   Completed transactions in 2011 include MyTECHNIC, based at Sabiha Gokcen International Airport in Istanbul, which performs aircraft and engine maintenance for a wide range of airline customers primarily based in Europe, MENA, and Asia; and MyCargo Airlines, an air cargo operator based in Istanbul, Turkey.  Previously in 2010, HNA and Bravia acquired the US$ 3 billion aircraft leasing portfolio from Allco Finance Group, which has since been rebranded Hong Kong Aviation Capital and is amongst the top aircraft lessor's globally.  In addition, Bravia and HNA have made investments in ship finance and heavy ocean transportation businesses.

About HNA Group

HNA Group Co. Limited ("HNA") is a leading China-based conglomerate with substantial interests in tourism, transportation, financial services, real estate, airport, retail and logistics. Based in Haikou and Beijing, HNA has total assets exceeding USD 30 billion and annual revenues of USD 10 billion. Please find more information at http://www.hnagroup.com.

About Bravia Capital

Bravia Capital is a Hong Kong based private equity and advisory firm entity with a primary focus on transportation and logistics investments worldwide. Please find more information at http://www.braviacapital.com.