By John Revill
ZURICH (Reuters) - Chinese conglomerate HNA Group is seeking a public listing for airline caterer Gategroup, the Swiss company said on Tuesday, potentially raising up to 350 million Swiss francs (269 million pounds) to help tackle HNA's liquidity crunch.
Reuters reported in November that HNA, which bought Gategroup for $1.5 billion in 2016, was considering an initial public offering.
The move is the latest in HNA's drive to restructure its far-flung operations, while raising cash by selling equity and real estate assets.
The aviation-to-financial services conglomerate also plans to sell some or all of its 25 percent stake in Park Hotels & Resorts, the U.S. hotel chain said in a filing this month.
HNA wants to list Gategroup in Zurich at the end of the first quarter or during the second quarter of 2018. It said it envisaged a free float of 65 percent, but said it wanted to remain as an anchor shareholder.
Gategroup, which employs 43,000 people, was listed in Switzerland before the highly acquisitive HNA bought and delisted it.
"We believe the envisaged IPO will allow Gategroup to bring new, innovative products and services to the market and to expand in new markets," said Adam Tan, Chief Executive of HNA Group.
"As a strategic investor and anchor shareholder, HNA will continue to support Gategroup with relevant industrial and market expertise, not only based on our experience in the airline industry but also given our global footprint."
Gategroup - which provides catering for Virgin Atlantic, Norwegian and other airlines - increased its revenue by 35 percent in 2017 to 4.55 billion Swiss francs, and doubled its operating profit to 167.1 million francs.
HNA has been on an acquisition spree in the past two years, including buying stakes in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn)
But the $50 billion binge has prompted increased scrutiny from regulators and bankers due to announced changes to HNA's shareholding structure and its use of leverage.
Swiss investigators said in January they were examining the circumstances surrounding HNA's acquisition of Gategroup after watchdogs raised questions about the transaction.
