How HNA Drama Turned Tragic as Buying Spree Went Sour

China’s HNA Group Co. shot to prominence by spending more than $40 billion on acquisitions across six continents from 2016. The once little-known airline operator became a major shareholder of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG as well as paying top dollar for high-end properties from Manhattan to Hong Kong. But the breathtaking buying spree prompted questions by regulators about its opaque ownership structure and the group’s struggle to manage its spiraling debt. That prompted a reversal of course and an equally dramatic selling spree. Further questions about HNA’s future arose following the sudden death of Wang Jian, its No. 2 executive.

Wang, who helped found the group more than two decades ago, died July 3 after falling from a height of about 15 meters (49 feet) while having his photograph taken in the French village of Bonnieux. HNA said its 57-year-old co-chairman had been in France on business. French police said he lost his balance as he attempted to climb onto a retaining wall next to a rock at the highest point in Bonnieux, a scenic village in the southeastern region of Provence. Wang was second only to Co-Chairman Chen Feng at HNA, and owned about 15 percent of the conglomerate. He was instrumental during HNA’s era of empire-building and its subsequent dismantlement. According to Liu Feng, director of the Hainan Normal University Free Trade Port Research Center, there will be short-term shocks to HNA’s business development, but the long-term impact of his passing will be limited.