Deutsche Bank welcomes the largest shareholder, Chinese HNA firm

Chinese conglomerate HNA Group has become Deutsche Bank AG's largest shareholder after increasing its stake in the German lender to almost 10%, according to a filing made by asset manager C-Quadrat and other entities. It took HNA's stake to 9.92%, following an initial stake of 4.76%, which it had earlier secured through C-Quadrat.
The acquisition of a significant stake in a pillar of European finance is another example of China's growing global influence. Last year, Chinese firms announced around $220 billion worth of deals for foreign companies, far more than any previous year. HNA's increased stake in Deutsche Bank makes it the lender's largest shareholder, ahead of members of Qatar's royal family and U.S. money manager BlackRock, according to public filings.

Deutsche Bank, HNA and C-Quadrat declined to comment.

In February, the German bank said, in response to news HNA had become a major shareholder, that it "welcomed in principle any investor with a long-term view."

Based in China's Hainan province, The "Financial Times" pointed to HNA's humble beginnings as a regional airline back in 1989, adding that the firm had "transformed itself into a sprawling holding company" with stakes in hotels, banks, airlines and logistics companies. The firm last year took a roughly 25% stake in hotelier Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.
HNA has done more than $30 billion of deals abroad since its founding, according to data provider Dealogic. It's also racked up a lot of debt in the process. HNA and its subsidiaries owed $13.3 billion as of April 12, according to Dealogic.

Deutsche Bank last month completed an $8.5 billion capital increase in which HNA Group and other shareholders participated, people close to the matter said at the time. The fundraising, Deutsche Bank's third since 2013, aimed to soothe concerns about the strength of the bank's capital buffers.