The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 10. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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◙ Hawker Beechcraft in Talks With Chinese Company for Sale (English article)
◙ Bankers Approach Tencent (HKEx: 700), Others on Activision (Nasdaq: ATVI) Sale (English article)
◙ Youku (NYSE: YOKU) Premium Enters into Licensing Agreement with NBCUniversal (PRNewswire)
◙ Denny’s (Nasdaq: DENN) Expanding Global Franchising Presence to China (Businesswire)
◙ Camelot Information (NYSE: CIS) In JV with Wuhan Iron and Steel Engineering Group (PRNewswire)
When the history books are written, the ongoing pursuit of privately owned natural gas distributor China Gas (HKEx: 384) by state-owned oil giant Sinopec (HKEx: 386; Shanghai: 600028; NYSE: SNP) could well be remembered as one of the strangest cases of M&A in recent memory, marked by a series of cryptic moves by Sinopec including its latest public announcement in the case.
China’s top bank ICBC (HKEx: 1398; Shanghai: 601398) is making more smart moves in its drive to look more like a commercial lender, consummating previously announced deals that should provide good starting points to develop new business areas with big potential. The first of those has seen the bank close its acquisition of a mid-sized US lender, paving the way for it to enter that important market; while the second has seen ICBC close its purchase of a controlling stake in a China-based insurance joint venture, setting the stage for it to enter a sector with big potential in its drive to become a more fully-diversified lender.
Last week’s settlement of a high-profile trademark dispute that appeared to mark a victory for Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has apparently done little to discourage others from pursuing the US tech giant in court, with 2 new cases making the headlines just days after announcement of an end to the original dispute. My only possible explanation for the strange timing in the announcement of these new cases is that perhaps the 2 plaintiffs saw that Apple agreed to pay $60 million for rights to the iPad name in China to a bankrupt company named Proview, and now think that they can perhaps get similar settlements in their own cases.
Consolidation is accelerating the budget hotel space with new acquisitions by industry leader Home Inns (Nasdaq: HMIN) and private equity giant Carlyle (Nasdaq: CG), as China’s top operators look for ways to maintain their growth going amid a slowing market. This growing string of smaller deals is building up to the big story that’s likely to come in the next 2 years, when we could see a Chinese player make a global acquisition or one of the big foreign operators buy up a Chinese brand.
Weak investor sentiment towards overseas-listed Chinese Internet companies has claimed a major new victim in Jingdong Mall, China’s second largest e-commerce firm, which has reportedly put the brakes on a planned IPO even as it appears to be running low on cash. This new development is just the latest surprise in a tale that’s been full of mixed signals and non-stop surprises surrounding this fast-growing but money-losing company also known to many as 360Buy. It also bodes poorly for market for Chinese companies aiming to list overseas for the rest of the year, including an upcoming offering by online entertainment firm Shanda for its literature unit, Shanda Cloudary.
It’s one thing when analysts say China’s banking sector is facing a massive bad loan crises, but quite another when someone from the industry admits there is a problem, which is what has finally happened with new remarks from Bank of China’s (HKEx: 3988; Shanghai: 601988) chairman. Analysts have been warning of this problem for more than a year now, and a regulator even added his voice to the concerns last month (
Leading Internet firm Tencent (HKEx: 700) is solidifying its place as China’s top online game company, following the announcement that it has entered into a long-term strategic alliance with US-based Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI), a leading global game developer. (
How many short sellers does it take to kill a strange tiger, or the company more commonly known as Internet software security specialist Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU)? The question itself may sound strange, but Qihoo, whose Chinese name means “strange tiger,” is once again in the spotlight after its data has been questioned once again by yet another short seller. This marks the third time such a report has come out since late last year, reflecting the wide degree of skepticism that many feel towards this company and its controversial leader.
