China Evergrande sells entire stake in streaming platform HengTen to

By Clare Jim and Indranil Sarkar

HONG KONG (Reuters) -China Evergrande Group is selling its entire stake in streaming services firm HengTen Network Group for HK$2.13 billion ($273.5 million), as the cash-strapped developer boosts efforts to avoid a debilitating default on its debts.

Evergrande, the world’s most indebted developer, said on Thursday it would book a loss of HK$8.5 billion from selling the 18% stake in HengTen, in which Chinese gaming and social media giant Tencent Holdings (OTC:) holds around a 20% share.

The Shenzhen-based real estate company has been stumbling from deadline to deadline in recent weeks as it grapples with more than $300 billion in liabilities, $19 billion of which are international market bonds.

A wholly owned unit of Evergrande entered into an agreement with Allied Resources Investment Holdings Ltd, owned by investor Li Shao Yu, to sell 1.66 billion HengTen shares at HK$1.28 per share, at a discount of 24% to its closing price on Wednesday.

The latest share disposal extends Evergrande’s sell-down of its HangTen stake from 26.55% in the secondary market since early this month.

Shares of Evergrande dropped 5% in afternoon trade, while HengTen, which streams and produces film and television programmes and has been described as China’s Netflix (NASDAQ:) by Chinese media, jumped 23%.

Evergrande’s bonds due March 2022 rose 1.997 cents to 32.2 on the dollar, according to Duration Finance.

The developer said in the filing that 20% of the deal consideration will be payable within five business days from the date of the agreement, while the remainder will be completed within two months.

Investors are on tenterhooks as they wait to see if Evergrande, which failed to pay coupons totalling $82.5 million due on Nov. 6, can meet its obligations before the 30-day grace period expires on Dec 6.

Other Chinese property developers are also stepping up financing efforts via share sales as liquidity in the offshore bond market dries up due to fears over any contagion from Evergrande’s troubles.

Country Garden Services Holdings, the property services unit of top developer Country Gardens, raised $1 billion on Thursday from placing 4.5% of enlarged shares, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The company sold 150 million new shares at HK$53.35 each, a 9.5% discount to the last traded price of HK$58.95 on Wednesday. Its shares were suspended from trading on Thursday, while those of parent Country Garden dropped 4.3%.

Smaller rival Agile Group also said on Thursday it sold convertible bonds worth HK$2.4 billion based on the initial exchange price of HK$27.48 per share of its property management unit A-Living Smart City Services.

Shares of A-Living tumbled 8.3% to HK$21 on Thursday.

Agile said it has remitted funds to…