Walt Disney Co.'s Chinese government-owned business partner, Shanghai Shendi Group Co., has agreed on a syndicated loan for an undisclosed amount with 12 Chinese banks for the construction of Shanghai Disneyland, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Friday.
Xinhua said the lead arrangers are China Development Bank Corp., Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co., and Bank of Communications Co.
Co-lead lenders are Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. Agricultural Bank of China Ltd., China Construction Bank Corp. and Bank of China Ltd.
Other participating banks are Export-Import Bank of China, Bank of Shanghai Co., China Citic Bank Corp., Hua Xia Bank Co. and Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank Co., Xinhua said.
Disney's first theme park in mainland China will be part of a bigger $4.4 billion Disney resort that is to include hotels, restaurants, retail shops and other amenities.
The deal to build the resort, recently approved by the Chinese central government, gives 43% of the project to Disney and 57% to a trio of state-owned businesses, collectively known as the Shanghai Shendi Group. The project's costs--and profits--are to be divided along those proportions.
Disney is to operate the theme park, which broke ground in April and is expected to take five years to complete.