BEIJING/MARSEILLE, France (Reuters) - Chinese conglomerate HNA Group [HNAIRC.UL] Co-Chairman Wang Jian died during a business trip in France on July 3 in what local police said appeared to be an accidental fall from a wall while posing for a photograph.
Wang, 57, is regarded as the architect of an eye-popping $50 billion acquisition spree that saw HNA accumulate assets ranging from a stake in Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE) to high-profile overseas properties. Under pressure from Beijing, HNA has since sold off many of those assets to slash debt.
He was in charge of HNA’s strategy and ran day-to-day operations, sources familiar with the matter have said, while his fellow chairman and co-founder Chen Feng was often the public face of the group.
Wang fell 15 meters off a wall in the village of Bonnieux, near Avignon, a picturesque area popular with tourists, lieutenant-colonel Hubert Meriaux of the Vaucluse gendarmerie force told Reuters.
“He stood on the edge of a sharp drop to get his family to take a picture of him and fell,” he said.
Wang held a 15 percent stake in HNA, which has been often criticized for its opaque ownership structure. It is controlled by a New York-based foundation and a China-based charity that together hold 52 percent of HNA shares. Chen also holds a 15 percent stake.
Shareholders have promised that in the event of leaving the company or dying they would pass their stakes to the New York charity fund, according to a document seen by Reuters.
An aviation-to-financial
