HNA Scuttles Deal for Scaramucci's SkyBridge After National Security Rebuff

The multiagency panel, called the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., privately told both firms it would only approve the deal subject to concessions that would have essentially left the two companies operating separately, people familiar with the matter said.

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HNA, investment partner RON Transatlantic EG and SkyBridge announced the deal in January 2017, with HNA executives hailing the investment as a way to build a global asset-management business. SkyBridge, which helps clients invest money in hedge funds, had about $10 billion in assets under management or advisement as of February. The deal would have valued SkyBridge at around $200 million, The Wall Street Journal reported at the time it was announced. SkyBridge has continued to shed client assets since then.

The CFIUS panel, which can recommend the president block transactions, has grown increasingly wary of Chinese deals. Critics say such investments can pose disproportionate risks to national security because Chinese companies may be directed and subsidized by the government of China, a chief economic and military rival.

CFIUS is also more closely vetting other deals with potential national-security ramifications linked to China. President Donald Trump in March blocked Singapore-based Broadcom Ltd.'s $117 billion bid for Qualcomm Inc. due to concerns by CFIUS that it could weaken the U.S. chip maker in its competition with China's Huawei Technologies Co.