Jul 10, 2017

China's Wanda Group gives up Disney fight

AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

China's Dalian Wanda Group has agreed to sell 76 hotels and stakes in 13 tourism projects to Chinese property developer Sunac (HK: 1918) for approximately $9.3 billion.

Why it matters: Wanda has openly said that it wants to crush Disney's theme park business in China, but today's deal means that it's given up that fight. Here was Wanda chairman Wang Jianlin after the early 2016 opening of Disneyland Shanghai: "The frenzy of Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse and the era of blindly following them has passed... At Wanda I always say we want to ensure Disney is not profitable for 10 to 20 years in this business segment in China."

Bottom line: This is mostly about Wanda needing cash to repay debt, both because it wants to relist its main property unit and because China's banking regulator last month asked lenders to review the risk profile of loans made to big acquirers like Wanda.

Go deeper

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 1 p.m. ET: 5,543,439 — Total deaths: 347,836 — Total recoveries — 2,266,394 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 1 p.m. ET: 1,669,040 — Total deaths: 98,426 — Total recoveries: 379,157 — Total tested: 14,604,942 — Map.
  3. Trump administration: Mike Pence's press secretary returns to work after beating coronavirus.
  4. States: New York reports lowest number of new coronavirus deaths since March.
  5. Public health: The final data for remdesivir is in and its benefits are rather limited.
  6. Education: A closer look at how colleges can reopen — Notre Dame president says science alone "cannot provide the answer" to reopening.
  7. What should I do? Hydroxychloroquine questions answered — Traveling, asthma, dishes, disinfectants and being contagious — Masks, lending books and self-isolating — Exercise, laundry, what counts as soap — Pets, moving and personal health — Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — How to minimize your risk.
  8. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it, the right mask to wear.

Subscribe to Mike Allen's Axios AM to follow our coronavirus coverage each morning from your inbox.

Updated 56 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Pentagon watchdog sidelined by Trump resigns

Fine testiying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2017. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Glenn Fine, the Pentagon's principal deputy inspector general, submitted his resignation on Tuesday.

Why it matters: President Trump removed Fine as the Pentagon's acting inspector general in April 7 after a group of independent federal watchdogs selected him to lead the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, which was set up to oversee the rollout of the $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

New York reports lowest number of daily coronavirus deaths since March

The number of daily new coronavirus cases and deaths reported in New York was the lowest since the state started its lockdown in March, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday, calling Memorial Day a "pivot point" for New York.

By the numbers: 73 New Yorkers died from coronavirus in the past 24 hours, and 200 people tested positive. Hospitalizations and intubations also decreased.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow2 hours ago - Health