Sanpower Group Statement on House of Fraser CVAs

NANJING, China, June 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Chinese private multi-national holding company Sanpower Group notes the announcement, on Thursday, by House of Fraser in relation to the proposed Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs) and reiterates its support for this challenging but necessary restructuring.

Sanpower Group is the controlling stakeholder of Nanjing Cenbest, which in turn owns 89 percent of House of Fraser. Cenbest is in the process of selling a 51 percent stake to Hong Kong-listed C.banner International. This will be completed following the successful implementation of the CVA.

Cenbest will retain a significant minority interest, whilst C.banner will become the majority shareholder in the department store chain.

"Like many other retailers, House of Fraser needs to adapt to a fundamentally different retail environment. We believe that a restructured business has an exciting future, and believe C.banner is the perfect strategic partner to help us accelerate the company's growth together," said Yuan Yafei, Chairman of Sanpower Group.

Hong Kong-listed shoe manufacturer and retailer C.banner is a strategic partner of Sanpower Group and is the owner of Hamleys, Britain's oldest toy retailer. In relation to the transaction announced on 2 May, HK$1.32 billion has been recently committed in C.banner's share placement by investors including Wangfujing, one of China's largest and most recognised department stores.

Sanpower Group has been led by Mr. Yuan, its founder and chairman since 1993. It has controlling stakes in more than 100 companies, with a 120,000-strong global workforce, including 40,000 non-Chinese employees.

ABOUT SANPOWER GROUP

Sanpower Group Co., Ltd. is a multi-national holding company whose core business engagements are within the technology and modern service industries. The Group benefits from the synergy between various industries, including New Healthcare and New Commerce.

Sanpower Group owns a number of listed companies, including Hiteker (600122.SH), Nanjing Cenbest (600682.SH), IDT International (0167.HK), Jinpeng Yuankang (New Third Board 430606), Fujitsu Electronics (New Third Board 837438) as well as key privately-held global enterprises such as Hisap, Funtalk Telecommunications, Hirealty, Guangzhou Jinpeng, Tianxia Financial Service, China Newsweek, An Kang Tong, Natali (Israel), Dendreon (US), House of Fraser (UK), and Brookstone (US),. The Group has controlling stakes in more than 100 companies and has a 120,000-strong global workforce, including 40,000 non-Chinese employees.

With total assets in excess of RMB 130 billion and annual gross sales amounting to RMB 150 billion in 2017, the Group has been on the list of "China's Top 500 Enterprises" for fourteen consecutive years (124th) and is ranked 21st in "China's Top 500 Private Enterprises of 2017" and 12th in "China's Top 100 Private Service Enterprises of 2017" by All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC).

Sanpower Group celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2018. Its chairman Yuan Yafei's vision for the group is to create "an integrated globalized platform of modern service providers, which is based on scenarios and supported by big data".

Media Enquiries:

Andy Hu
Director of Global Communications, Sanpower (China)
huyinan@sanpowergroup.com 
+86 25 83267003

Gordon Carver
Associate Director, Porter Novelli (London)
Gordon.carver@porternovelli.co.uk 
+44 (0)7720 277 146