Chinese firms continue to acquire foreign firms’ expertise and assets.
Reuters: “China’s largest maker of auto parts won a politically sensitive auction for A123 Systems Inc (AONEQ.PK), a bankrupt maker of batteries for electric cars that was funded partly with U.S. government money, A123’s investment banker said on Saturday.
Timothy Pohl of Lazard Freres said Wanxiang Group Corp’s bid of about $260 million topped a joint bid from Johnson Controls Inc (JCI.N) of Milwaukee and Japan’s NEC Corp (6701.T) for the maker of lithium-ion batteries.
Siemens AG (SIEGn.DE) of Germany had also qualified to bid, according to two people familiar with the auction, who asked not to be identified. The auction began on Thursday.
Chinese companies have launched $51.3 billion worth of outbound deals this year, making it Asia’s second-biggest spender on overseas acquisitions behind Japan, according to Thomson Reuters data.
While state-owned oil giants continue to dominate outbound deals, recently Chinese companies have targeted deals aimed at securing technology know-how. That shift is supported by China’s five-year development plan that puts emphasis on industries such as high-end manufacturing equipment.
Earlier this year, Shandong Heavy Industry Group agreed to buy a quarter stake in Germany’s Kion Group KIONG.UL, giving China access to industrial technology from the world’s number two fork lift truck maker.
Before that, Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group agreed to buy a majority stake in privately held German machinery manufacturer Schwing, while Sany Heavy Industry (600031.SS) bought rival Putzmeister in a 360 million euro ($472 million) deal.
Wanxiang, one of the largest non-government-owned companies in China, has annual revenue of more than $13 billion and supplies auto parts to many of China’s largest automakers.”
via China’s Wanxiang wins auction for U.S. government-backed A123 | Reuters.
See also: https://chindia-alert.org/2012/02/13/pattern-of-chinese-overseas-investments/
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