Assisting a Chinese highway operator in diversifying its business through valuation

The need to expand revenue streams was also critical for the company in overcoming the impact of a nationwide waiver of road tolls which the government imposed from February 17 2020, during the containment of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Hong Kong-listed company had set its sights on acquiring a 94.49% stake in Chengdu Energy Development Co., a sister company which owns and operates gas and petrol stations in the city, from Chengdu Communications Investment Group. Many of the gas stations are located near the expressways that Chengdu Expressway operates.

JLL’s Valuation and Advisory Services team has been providing valuation services to companies operating in a wide range of businesses including those in the infrastructure and shipping sector.

Impressed by our track record for valuations completed across Greater China and local market knowledge, the client engaged us to provide an overall independent valuation of the stake in the target company, and a view on the opportunities and risks associated with its assets.

At the time of the valuation in March 2020, Chengdu Energy Development owned 22 petrol stations and 23 liquefied petroleum gas stations through its subsidiaries, joint ventures and associated companies.

We chose to adopt the market approach in estimating the value of the total shareholders’ equity of Chengdu Energy Development, which considers prices that recently paid for comparable assets while adjustments are made to reflect current market conditions.

During the research process, the team identified an exhaustive list of five comparable companies that engaged in the sale of oil products and natural gas, and/or related businesses on the mainland.

Also taken into account was the overall macro and micro economic outlook, the nature of the target group’s business and history of its operations, its financial condition, potential financial and business risks, and the liquidity of the target business.

We delivered the valuation report to the client for their board and independent shareholders’ consideration within the fixed time, which enabled the successful conclusion of the transaction in July 2020.