HONG KONG/SYDNEY (Oct 9): Asia-focused investment firm PAG is in exclusive talks to acquire a majority stake in the property services unit of debt-laden developer China Evergrande Group, said two people close to the transaction.

Evergrande Property Services said on Sept 30 that China Evergrande Group and ​CEG Holdings (BVI), its controlling shareholders, have ‌entered an exclusivity agreement with a selected bidder for a potential sale of ​their shares in the company, without disclosing the name.

At the centre of China's sweeping property crackdown that started six years ago, Evergrande, once China's premier developer, has defaulted on most of its $300 billion in liabilities.

Liquidators of Evergrande informed the indebted property developer a year ago that they were seeking ‌to sell a 51.016% stake in Evergrande Property Services.

The financial terms of PAG's potential offer were not immediately clear.

Evergrande Group and Evergrande Property Services did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. PAG declined to comment.

Bloomberg first reported PAG's exclusivity on Friday morning.

The exclusivity period would end on October 27, Evergrande Property Services said in September.

If a deal materialises, it would mark major progress in liquidators' effort to recover Evergrande creditors' claims that total a staggering US$45 billion.

The liquidation process has moved at a glacial pace, according to its liquidators, with only about US$255 million worth of assets sold as of last August.

Evergrande Property Services has a market value of slightly under US$1.6 billion as of Friday, LSEG data showed. Its share price has dropped 87% since its IPO in 2020.

A Hong Kong court ordered Evergrande liquidated in 2024, and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange delisted it last year, bringing an end to a tumultuous boom-to-bust saga.

PAG, an experienced investor in China's property management sector, in 2024 led a group of investors to acquire a 60% stake in developer Dalian Wanda Group's mall unit for US$8.3 billion.

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