The century-old British tourism company 188bet app Group ("188bet app" for short) is experiencing business setbacks、The crisis of sharp drop in stock price and layoffs。For self-rescue，188bet app is asking for help，Introducing investors，Hope to finance 7.£500 million，To alleviate the liquidity crisis，The old employer Fuxingxing Enterprise from China is one of his favorite financing targets。

It has not yet been determined whether Fosun Travel will participate in the reorganization of 188bet app

188bet app, founded in 1841, was the world’s first travel agency，Also the second largest tourism group in Europe，Second only to TUI，Listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2007。

The “marriage” between Fosun Group and 188bet app dates back to 2015。At that time，Fosun Group strategic investment in 188bet app，Became the majority shareholder of Thomas Kutok。On the eve of the independent spin-off of Fosun Tourism and Culture Group ("Fosun Tourism") from Fosun International，Fosun Group will adjust its shareholding in 188bet app to Fosun Tourism，As of the end of 2018，Fosun Travel & Tourism holds approximately 6% of 188bet app66% equity；January 1 to March 12, 2019，Fosun Tourism has passed the secondary market of the London Stock Exchange，Purchased 188bet app 3.62% equity。Also，Fosun International subsidiary Fidelidade also holds 188bet app 7.23% equity。

The increase in 188bet app’s stake has caused continued speculation from the outside world，Will Fosun Group, including Fosun Travel, make another large-scale acquisition of 188bet app?？However, Fosunxing has not responded positively to this matter。

The turnaround occurred on July 12。Today，188bet app releases refinancing plan announcement，Chengzheng, Fosun Tourism and its subsidiaries, etc.，Conduct further negotiations。

Same day，Fosun Tourism releases "Statement on Market Rumors"，Statement confirmed，Fosun Tourism and its affiliates and the core lending bank of 188bet app Group，Under consideration of proposals for a possible recapitalization and demerger of 188bet app Group。Plan includes，188bet app plans to introduce 7.£500 million in new funding，Includes capital injection and new loans；Through recapitalization，Fosun Travel will take a controlling stake in 188bet app’s travel agency and a significant minority stake in its airline。

Informed sources disclosed to Beijing News reporter，The above plan is the reorganization plan proposed by 188bet app，The plan includes investors、Creditors, etc.。After the plan is proposed，188bet app invites stakeholders to discuss，Fosun Travel is one of the relevant parties，But not the dominant one，Doesn’t play a particularly obvious role，Just willing to consider participating in the reorganization。Also，There are prerequisites for participating in the reorganization，Includes 188bet app operating results、Due Diligence、Stakeholder agreements, etc.。Currently，Fosun Tourism is only interested in participating in the restructuring，Not yet fully concluded。

188bet app lost 1.5 billion pounds in the first half，Fosun Group’s previous investment or deposit failed

Although there is a century-old sign above my head，But 188bet app is no longer what he used to be。

According to statistics from Zhou Mingqi, founder of Jingjian Think Tank，Fosun Group acquired 188bet app in 2015，Year，188bet app’s net profit is 0.£1.9 billion，It has been decreasing year by year since then，Loss in 2018，Loss amount reaches 1.£6.3 billion。

Zhou Mingqi analyzed and pointed out，188bet app’s operating performance in recent years has always struggled with the profit and loss line，The asset-liability ratio has also reached an extremely dangerous level of over 95%；188bet app’s main business is low-profit travel agencies and airlines，Carrying such high debt，Doubtful operation rationality。First half of 2019，188bet app’s business situation has taken a turn for the worse，A huge loss of nearly 1.5 billion pounds，Among them，Goodwill appears 11.Huge impairment of £500 million。As of now，188bet app has 19 years left.£5.5 billion of goodwill and intangible assets，There may be a risk of further impairment，Loss may further expand。Also，First half of 2019，188bet app’s asset-liability ratio has reached 126.76%，Insolvent。

And 188bet app’s share price has also been very sluggish recently。July 23，188bet app’s closing price on the London Stock Exchange did not exceed £5/share，And in 2015，Even at a low level，188bet app’s share price is also nearly 100 pounds per share，At the high point it was over 150 pounds per share。May this year，Citigroup rates 188bet app shares a 'sell'，Evaluate the target stock price expectation as 0。

Due to the continued high debt ratio and the sharp plunge in stock prices，Industry experts question，Fosun Group’s previous investment in 188bet app may have failed。From the perspective of stock price，When the stock price rises, you make money，If the stock price falls, it means a loss，So，The doubts about Fosun Group’s investment failure are not unfounded。

The commercial value of century-old IP still exists，Business synergy becomes an investment consideration

Zhou Mingqi’s analysis，Though 188bet app is not doing well，But as a world-renowned brand、The pioneering brand of modern tourism，The huge commercial value of its IP is self-evident。

This point，Fosun Group is also very aware。Back in 2015，Fosun Group introduces 188bet app brand to China，Both parties jointly created the travel agency brand 188bet app；Early this year，Fosun Group once again introduced 188bet app’s Casa Cook hotel and Sunwing Qingle Bay family resort brands，Incorporated into Fosun Tourism’s tourism destination segment。

In addition to focusing on brand advantages，Informed sources disclosed，Fosun Group previously invested in 188bet app，Mainly because of its synergy with the group’s tourism sector，“Previously, Fosun Group invested in Club Med，Vote again for 188bet app，I think there is synergy between 188bet app and Club Med，Club Med’s product is the resort，188bet app is the channel，There are many outlets in Europe，Has the function of diverting traffic。”Fosun Travel is participating in the reorganization of 188bet app，There are also considerations in this regard。

Expert: 188bet app management may have problems with its management capabilities

What is currently attracting more attention from the industry，Next step，As the tourism sector of Fosun Group，Whether Fosun Travel will further acquire 188bet app？

Industry people think，Even further acquisitions are a last resort。If you do not continue to participate in the acquisition，Emergency blood transfusion to 188bet app who was on the verge of bankruptcy，Fosun Group’s previous investment may be completely lost。If you continue to participate in the acquisition，Can 188bet app be successfully saved，Still an unknown number。

Reportedly，After 188bet app previously invested in Greek affordable luxury brand Folli Follie，Folli Follie has repeatedly been involved in financial fraud crises，And encountered short selling。Afterwards，Folli Follie was found guilty of data fraud by the Greek Securities Regulatory Commission、Market manipulation，Requesting immediate trading suspension、Rectify and pay a fine of US million。188bet app has almost fully provided for investment losses on all investments。

Will 188bet app follow in the footsteps of Folli Follie？Judging from its current operating conditions，It’s really not optimistic。However，Zhou Mingqi’s analysis，As the largest shareholder，If Fosun Group can empower 188bet app’s business expansion in China，It may significantly improve its performance，Maybe you will get a good return on investment in the capital market，To make up for current investment losses。But only if，188bet app requires major business and management changes，“Judging from the worsening performance over the years，There are certain problems with its management’s operating capabilities。”

*Source of this article: Beijing News，Author: Wang Qingbin，Original title: "Or participate in debt-laden 188bet app restructuring negotiations，Fosun Pictures？》.