"BHR Partners calls itself a private-equity firm, and it acts on behalf of large financial backers to find companies to invest in, most of them in China.
Filings show BHR Partners winning a piece of several desirable transactions: a stake worth more than $900 million in a corporate spinoff of non-oil industry assets from China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. ; a $10 million holding in China General Nuclear Power Corp., just before an initial public offering; and participation with a dozen other investment groups in a $4.4 billion privatization of a property business controlled by entertainment giant Dalian Wanda Group. For a time, BHR Partners held a stake in Didi Chuxing Technology Co., China’s dominant ride-hailing service, and has invested in a leading facial-recognition business, Megvii Technology Inc. BHR Partners has also launched a number of investment funds.
Investors in some of these transactions stood to score quick profits, while the firm hasn’t yet made a profitable exit from others, the filings suggest.
In the U.S., BHR Partners participated in a $600 million buyout of Michigan automotive-suspension-systems maker Henniges Automotive in 2015, acquiring a 49% stake, but a banker involved in the deal said negotiations were handled primarily by Aviation Industry Corporation of China Ltd., a state-owned aircraft company that bought a 51% stake."
"Who are the primary investors in BHR Partners?
BHR Partners is 80%-controlled by Chinese entities, its business registration shows.
A consortium including the Chinese government’s postal savings bank, its main development bank, a pension fund and the Bank of China controls 30%, while another 30% is held by a major mutual-fund group called Harvest Fund Management Co. Three other entities each own 10%, according to business filings.
Hunter Biden holds his 10% stake through a company he owns, Skaneateles LLC, named for his mother’s hometown in upstate New York.
BHR Partners’ chief executive is a Beijing investment banker named Jonathan Li, who explained his philosophy for a firm that could do deals in China and overseas on its website: “I wanted diversified ownership, including both Chinese and foreign partners, to make the firm more international,” he said.
Executives at BHR Partners didn’t respond to questions from the Journal."
