– This is the script of CNBC's news report for China's CCTV on April 3, Monday.
Welcome to CNBC Business Daily, I'm Qian Chen.
Swiss-based trading and mining giant Glencore has agreed to sell a 51 percent stake in its oil products and logistics business for $775 million to China's HNA Innovation Finance Group Ltd, the company said on Friday.
According to the annoucement, Glencore said the transaction is subject to certain regulatory approvals and closing conditions and is expected to close during the second half of 2017.
Although Chinese companies have been seen a slowdown in overseas M&A activities recently, HNA Group is an exception.
But why Glencore and why now?
Glencore is one of the world's largest global diversified natural resource companies and a major producer and marketer of more than 90 commodities.
However, the company has increased its net debt reduction target and deepened its capital spending cuts due to the declines of commodity prices since 2015.
Now, the transaction, will result in a newly incorporated company, HG Storage International Ltd, which will consolidate Glencore's existing petroleum products storage and logistics businesses into a global portfolio of high-calibre assets.
HG Storage will have an established presence in major trading hubs and strategically important locations across Europe, Africa and the Americas.
For China's HNA Group, Glencore is just another item on its shopping list this year.
The company reported 25 percent stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings in March. Meanwhile, Manhattan's property of 245 Park Ave, along with a few other deals, is on the company's "shopping list".
However, on a broader picture, Chinese firms overseas purchases have slowed down in the first quarter of this year.
According to Reuters, in the first three months of the year, the value of announced outbound deals from China dropped sharply to $23.8bn from $95.1bn last year.
CNBC's Qian Chen, reporting from Singapore.