Reuters: “German businessman Norbert Scheuch was bowled over by his red-carpet treatment on a visit to China late last year and by how fast the country’s largest construction firm sealed the deal to buy his company. The head of Sany Heavy Industry, which is controlled by China’s richest man, Liang Wengen, personally gave Scheuch a tour of their plant and then had a top manager drive him to the airport and wait with him for his flight home. “Nobody would ever do that in Europe,” said Scheuch, CEO of concrete pump maker Putzmeister.
“The Chinese made it very clear from the beginning they wanted the company immediately,” he added. Barely a month later, Sany’s top negotiator Xiang Wenbo was in the offices of law firm Shearman Sterling in Frankfurt at 3 am to sign the deal to buy Putzmeister for 360 million euros ($472 million) after a nine-hour session with the notary.
The purchase, which gives Sany a technological edge over its rivals, illustrates how Chinese investors are becoming more savvy about foreign takeovers, not just to gain access to raw materials or patents but as an engine for growth. By keeping the German management in place after its acquisition and announcing that Putzmeister would become its new international distribution hub outside China for concrete machinery, Sany also defied the clichés about Chinese practices and assuaged local anxiety among employees. “I had to promise the Chinese solemnly that our management would stay on board,” Scheuch said.
Germany, Europe’s largest economy and home to many small and medium-sized companies famed for their technological know-how and exporting prowess, is especially attractive for cash-rich Chinese businesses looking to build a global profile. Some German and other European companies also look cheap to Chinese buyers after the euro zones sovereign debt crisis.”
Rest of long article is equally interesting.
via Insight: Bullish China shops in industrial Germany | Reuters.
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