Japanese travel agency H.I.S. is in talks to sell its stake in Huis Ten Bosch, a resort in the Nagasaki Prefecture city of Sasebo, to Hong Kong-based investment fund PAG, Nikkei has learned. The company aims to reach an agreement on the deal by the end of this month.

H.I.S. holds 66.7% of Huis Ten Bosch shares. The remaining shares are held by local companies such as Saibu Gas and JR Kyushu. PAG intends to buy more than 90% of the shares, with the deal's value believed to total around 100 billion yen ($730 million), according to sources.

PAG has invested in businesses in Asia, such as the operator of Universal Studios Japan, Chinese shopping mall operator Wanda Commercial Management Group and Tencent Music Entertainment Group, according to its website. Among the sectors it focuses on are entertainment, health care and financial services.

On the other hand, H.I.S. hopes to raise funds through the sale, given as the company's business has deteriorated amid the prolonged decline in travel demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

H.I.S. logged a record group net loss in the fiscal year that ended in October 2021 due to the sluggish travel demand. It also reported a record net loss of 26.9 billion yen for the first six months of fiscal 2022 (from November 2021 to April 2022) due to the slow recovery of overseas travel and the poor performance of its retail electricity unit. In the same period last year, the company posted a net loss of 23.5 billion yen. ...continue reading