Two major acquisitions of western food firms by Chinese buyers are in the news today, with more bad signs for Shuanghui’s pending purchase of pork maker Smithfield (NSYE: SFD), and word that Shanghai-based Bright Food is seeking a large deal in Israel. Perhaps I’m being a bit pessimistic, but I see both of these deals ultimately failing due to the increasingly sensitive nature of cross-border food acquisitions. Western governments seem prepared to let Chinese firms purchase locally-based makers of individual food products, such as wines or cookies. But those same governments will be far more wary about purchases lower down in their food chains, which have the potential to affect much larger segments of broader food supplies. Read Full Post…
Let’s start the day with a look at the latest Internet TV tie-up between leading TV maker TCL Multimedia (HKEx: 1070) and online search leader Baidu, the latter of which has suddenly discovered a huge appetite for similar new partnerships. I need to start off by saying that anyone who didn’t see this latest tie-up coming must be living in a cave, as media previously reported on it a few weeks ago and TCL chief Li Dongsheng has been talking about it non-stop on his microblog these last few days. I’ve previously said that I like this deal for reasons I’ll recap shortly (previous post); but now that the deal is official, what’s more intriguing is the potential for a stronger tie-up in the future, including a potential equity swap or even a purchase of TCL Multimedia by Baidu. Read Full Post…
Embattled food processor China Minzhong Food (Singapore: CMFC) is discovering that private ownership is sometimes preferable to the perils of being a publicly listed firm, following a short-seller attack last week that has now been followed by a new buy-out offer. Minzhong has just been listed for just 3 years now, but received a big lesson last week when its stock lost half of its value in a single day after short seller Glaucus Research issued a report implying some of its financials were false or overstated. Now the company has received a generous buyout offer from Indonesia’s Indofood, in what’s likely to become the beginning of the end of Mingzhong’s short life as a publicly listed company. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 4. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China’s Bright Food In Talks To Buy Israeli Food Group Tnuva (English article)
It’s refreshing to see Lenovo’s (HKEx: 992) chatty CEO Yang Yuanqing finally doing something besides boasting about his big plans for the company, with word that he is donating a big chunk of his annual bonus to ordinary employees. I’m a bit too jaded to believe that Yang’s donation of $3 million is a purely selfless act, since he was quite willing to give the media a detailed account of his decision. Still, the latest news comes as a nice break from the usual chatter about new M&A targets and other global aspirations from one of China’s most successful tech firms. Read Full Post…
Most of the world is buzzing with speculation about what prompted a top Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) executive to defect to Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi, but few are giving much credit to one of China’s hottest tech companies for luring Hugo Barra to join its ranks. Most media are focusing instead on an apparent love triangle between Google co-founder Sergey Brin and an unnamed current love interest, who just happens to be an ex-girlfriend of Barra. (English article) But instead, I would venture to guess that Barra’s departure has less to do with this titillating love story, and more to do with Xiaomi’s aggressive global aspirations, including its recent receipt of $2 billion in new funding — the most ever for a privately funded China tech firm. (previous post) Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 3. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Rattled By Investigations, Foreign Firms In China Beef Up Compliance (English article)
Several solar panel companies are in the headlines once again, led by an news that bankrupt former superstar Suntech (NYSE: STP) is nearing a reorganization that will cost its stockholders most of their money. While that may sound bad, I personally don’t have much sympathy for anyone who continued to hold Suntech stock after the company started experiencing major problems about a year ago. Meantime, the news is a bit more positive for rivals Yingli (NYSE: YGE) and Renesola (NYSE: SOL), which both reported narrowing losses as outlook for the sector continues to improve with stabilizing and even rising prices for solar panels. Read Full Post…
China notched a major milestone in its fight against economic crime last week when it levied a record fine against a rogue securities brokerage and significantly raised the maximum penalty for trademark infringement. Both cases showed that Beijing is determined to significantly raise the penalties that companies and their employees face for economic crimes like trademark theft and insider trading. Read Full Post…
Three years. That figure has suddenly become the magic number for a growing number of private Chinese firms that are increasingly looking to make IPOs in Hong Kong, which requires that all companies show at least 3 consecutive years of profit before they can list there. That magic number appears to be the key element behind new remarks by leading car rental firm China Auto Rental, which says it favors a Hong Kong listing within the next 3 years over New York. Not surprisingly, the company’s chief executive Charles Lu said he expects China Auto to turn profitable this year, meaning 2016 is the earliest his company could qualify for a listing on Hong Kong’s main stock exchange. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 31-September 2. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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