Shanghai Yuyuan Tourist Mart, the Fosun International-controlled retail arm of Chinese billionaire Guo Guangchang, has agreed to sell 80% of its stake in diamond-related investment arm Alpha Yu to a fund controlled by New York-based Blackrock for $455 million, Fosun said in a statement today.

The sale of the diamond certification and consulting business marks the latest asset sale by highly diversified Fosun amid a roller coaster ride for investors in the company’s Hong Kong shares over the past two years.

Fosun’s shares lost about two-thirds between May 2021 and September 2022 on debt concerns. Following disposals that included steel, beer and mining stakes, its shares have since surged more than 70% to a recent high of HK$7.87 in January. However, they have since lost most of those gains, closing at HK$5.21 on Friday. Shares in Shanghai Yuyuan, a 61.8%-owned subsidiary of Fosun, which trades on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, have lost more than a quarter in the past year.

Lorie Holding, which owned 20% of Alpha Yu, sold its stake in the business to Blackrock for $113.8 million. Based in the Netherlands, Lorie is wholly owned by Roland Lorie. Blackrock is one of the world’s largest investment companies with $991 billion under management in March.

Amid economic turbulence in China over the country’s zero-Covid policy, Fosun International’s 2022 net profit fell to 539 million yuan, or about $77 million, from 10.8 billion yuan in 2021. Its portfolio companies that listed companies include Lanvin, Fosun Pharmaceu, Hainan Mining, Sanyuan Foods and Jiahui Liquor. Hong Kong-listed Fosun Tourism owns the luxury hotel chain Club Med.

Guo, who directly and indirectly owns about 74% of Fosun International, is worth $3.3 billion today on Forbes’ Real Time Billionaires List.

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@rflannerychina