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Kenneth Huang

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Huang Jianhua
黄健华
Born
Jian-hua Huang

1965 (age 58–59)
NationalityChinese
OccupationBusinessman
Years active1988-present
Awards2009 BQ Philanthropist of the Year[1]

Huang Jianhua, also known as Kenneth Huang (Chinese: 黄健华; born 1965), is a Chinese businessman. Huang founded Sportscorp China in 2004[2] and QSL Sports in 2008.[3] In 2009, Huang began investing in Chinese sports leagues and teams.[4] After 2010, Huang began to invest in movies. Huang is currently a board member of the Board of Shanghai Film Group and Jiaflix Enterprises.[5] Huang is cited as the managing director for Rocket Capital, an investment group with ties to the former Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander.[6]

Huang is credited as being a founder of Jiaflix, China Movie Media Group, Huahua Media, and the H Collective[5] as well as being the current owner of the Chinese Basketball Association team the Jilin Northeast Tigers.

In 2012, Oriental Morning Post did an investigation of assets connected to Huang, leading to Huang's net worth being evaluated at US$1.05 billion.[7]

Early life and education

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Born in Guangzhou, China into a family with close business and government ties, he graduated in 1984 from Sun Yat-sen University. Huang then pursued under graduate studies at Columbia University, and then obtained his master's degree from St. John's University, before undertaking his MBA in financial management at New York University.[1]

Career

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Wall Street

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In 1988, Huang became the first mainland educated Chinese person to work on Wall Street, as a public relations executive.[2]

Chinese Sports

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Huang and Chicago-based sports consultant Marc Ganis, founded Sportscorp China in 2004, a company that helps bridge sports and sponsorship deals between the United States and China. This enabled Chinese sponsorship and rights distribution deals with both the Houston Rockets and the New York Yankees.[2]

Huang founded QSL Sports in 2008 alongside Adrian Cheng, whose family controls the Hong Kong conglomerate New World Development, investing in Chinese sports leagues and team.[4][8]

Huang introduced the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2009 to Tsingtao Brewery, which resulted in an agreement between the two.[3] It was reported in early 2010 that Huang had acquired a 15% shareholding in the Cleveland Cavaliers, considered at the time the first significant investment in a large US sports franchise by Chinese investors. However, in April 2010 it was made clear by the Cavaliers that Huang's role with the Cavaliers was to have acted as a middleman to secure the team's sponsorship with Tsingtao.[9] Adrien Cheng left his partnership with Huang soon after for unspecified reasons.[10] Adrien's departure as co-chair of both the National Basketball League of China and the Chinese Baseball League, left Huang as the sole chair of both.[2]

Huang also bought the Jilin Northeast Tigers.[11]

Liverpool deal and article

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During an interview in April 2010 with the UK's The Mirror newspaper, Huang claimed to be at a "crucial stage" in negotiations to acquire the Liverpool F.C. team for £500 million.[12] Four months later, Huang instead offered to pay off Liverpool's US$374 million in debts it owed to the Royal Bank of Scotland in return for control of the team. At the time, Huang claimed that the massive Chinese sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corporation, could become a silent investor in the deal. China Investment Corp, however, soon after denied this, saying it had "never heard of a plan to buy Liverpool or of Kenneth Huang".[13] Huang eventually dropped out of the deal a few weeks later.[14]

Inter Milan

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On 1 August 2012, Inter Milan announced that, club owner Massimo Moratti agreed to sell a minority interests of the club to a Chinese consortium led by Kenneth Huang.[15] On the same day Inter announced an agreement was formed with China Railway Construction Corporation Limited for a new stadium project.[15] However, the deal collapsed.[citation needed] The club was taken over by International Sports Capital, a company co-owned by Erick Thohir in 2013, with Moratti, Pirelli and many small investors as the minority shareholders.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Profile: Kenny Huang". BBC News. August 5, 2010. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d "Chinese businessman Huang wants to buy Liverpool". Sports Illustrated. August 2, 2010. Archived from the original on August 5, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Kenny HUANG Jian Hua". greatlakesgeek.com. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  4. ^ a b "Cavaliers Sell a Stake to Chinese Investors". New York Times. May 25, 2009. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Kenny Huang". jiaflixsite.com. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  6. ^ "Profile: Who is Kenny Huang? The story behind Liverpool's potential new owner | Goal.com US". www.goal.com. 2023-09-19. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  7. ^ "Mysterious Man Huang Jianhua". Oriental Morning Post (Dongfang Zaobao). October 25, 2012.
  8. ^ "Cavs' investor buys into Chinese basketball league". NBA.com. February 23, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  9. ^ Harris, Nick (August 24, 2010). "Kenny Huang's Meteoric Rise From Obscurity to Liverpool Bidder (or not)". Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  10. ^ Tully, David (August 7, 2010). "Let's Hope Huang's Phantom NBA Deal Does Not Repeat Itself". Live4Liverpool. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  11. ^ Branigan, Tania (August 2, 2010). "Kenneth Huang's rise from badminton ace to prospective Liverpool owner". The Guardian.
  12. ^ "I want Rafa Benitez to stay if I buy Liverpool, says Chinese bidder - Exclusive". The Mirror. April 24, 2010.
  13. ^ "China's CIC denies interest in Liverpool FC". The Financial Times. August 2010.
  14. ^ Scott, Matt (August 20, 2010). "Kenny Huang walks away from Liverpool takeover bid". The Guardian.
  15. ^ a b "Press release: Internazionale Holding S.r.l". F.C. Internazaionale Milano. 1 August 2012. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.