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Chinese firms’ addiction to distressed global assets was back in the spotlight last week with word that car maker Dongfeng Motor (HKEx: 489) is nearing a deal to purchase struggling French automaker Peugeot (Paris: PEUP). This pursuit of a global brand is consistent with Beijing’s call for Chinese firms to go global, and would certainly allow Dongfeng to quickly expand onto the world stage. Read Full Post…
Beijing is showing that Washington isn’t the only one that can play games over national security concerns, with word that networking equipment giant Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) is loosing big business in China due to revelations about US spying. Frankly speaking, this latest development in the networking equipment Cold War between Beijing and Washington doesn’t surprise me too much, and some might even say that China’s national security concerns are justified. But no matter what you think, it seems likely that Cisco’s new China freeze is at least partly and quite possibly completely in response to similar moves by Washington against Chinese networking equipment giants Huawei and ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063). Read Full Post…
The axiom that history repeats itself certainly seems to be true for fast-sinking Taiwanese PC maker Acer (Taipei: 2353), which has just announced the resignation of its chairman J.T. Wang. In the meantime, the region’s other top PC maker Lenovo (HKEx: 992) was probably wishing for a repeat of history, hoping that its successful purchase of IBM’s (NYSE: IBM) PC business in 2005 would be repeated with a recent bid for dying smartphone pioneer BlackBerry (Toronto: BB). But instead, media are reporting that Lenovo never bothered to make a formal bid for BlackBerry, after being told that such a deal would be blocked by Ottawa due to national security concerns. Read Full Post…
After years of dodgy acquisitions targeting struggling rivals, Chinese PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992) is finally making some acquisition bids I like, with reports the company is in talks to buy former Taiwanese smartphone superstar HTC (Taipei: 2498). This new report looks quite interesting, as it comes just 2 months after media speculated that Lenovo could make a bid for BlackBerry (Toronto: BB), another former smartphone high-flyer whose fortunes have also faded rapidly due to its failure to keep up with the latest trends. But Lenovo wisely decided to skip Canada-based BlackBerry, which would have been difficult to turn around for a number of reasons, including cultural and other structural issues due to its roots as an email specialist. Read Full Post…
I have to commend the Obama administration for approving the sale of leading US pork processor Smithfield (NYSE: SFD) to China’s Shuanghui, rather than succumbing to pressure from US politicians who opposed the deal. Washington regulators who were reviewing the deal for national security issues quietly approved the sale just before the weekend, providing a nice gift for Shuanghui for the upcoming Mid-Autumn and Chinese National Day holidays. (English article) But more importantly, approval of the deal sends an important message that the US wants to promote fair and free trade with China, and won’t play the kinds of political tit-for-tat games that often happen during trade disputes. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 17-19. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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I’ve often criticized PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992) for its overly aggressive policies towards M&A and expansion, so I’m quite happy to offer some praise for the company’s sudden ability to say “no” in 2 recent moves that looked problematic. In the last 2 weeks, the company that formerly couldn’t walk away from any expansion deal has suddenly scrapped 2 potential new initiatives, one in smartphones and the other in online gaming consoles. The former instance has seen Lenovo walk away from a plan to take over the struggling cellphone business of Japan’s NEC (Tokyo: 6701), while the latter has seen the company get rid of its game console business called Eedoo. Read Full Post…
The latest earnings and outlook are breathing new life into low-cost smarphone chip maker Spreadtrum (Nasdaq: SPRD), but also showing why the market remains difficult for homegrown IT services firms like Camelot Information Systems (NYSE: CIS). Spreadtrum’s newly announced upside surprise could bode well for the broader field of companies that specialize in low-cost smartphones and their components, as China prepares to launch 4G mobile services later this year. Meantime, Camelot’s weak earnings are likely to continue for the foreseeable future, though at least it won’t have to publicly discuss those embarrassing numbers if its current bid to privatize succeeds. Read Full Post…
A day after we saw the latest sign that Lenovo (HKEx: 992) was pursuing a major purchase in the US, we’re getting news of another smaller deal by China’s leading PC maker with word of a new smartphone tie-up with faded Japanese brand NEC (HKEx: 6701). Whereas I quite like the US deal that would see Lenovo buy the low-end server business of IBM (HKEx: IBM), this smaller deal with NEC looks more like Lenovo’s older pattern of buying up dying global brands with little or no real value. Read Full Post…
PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992) has announced plans for a major new bond issue, in the latest signal that it still hopes to revive stalled talks to buy IBM’s (NYSE: IBM) low-end server business. More broadly speaking, this announcement also marks a new chapter in Lenovo’s development as it adds bonds to its arsenal of to tools for financing global M&A. In the past, Lenovo typically gave stock to finance a big part of its global M&A, which was the case with its landmark purchase of IBM’s PC business in 2005 and its more recent formation of a joint venture with Japan’s NEC (Tokyo: 6701). Read Full Post…
Media are buzzing today with word that talks have broken down in a landmark deal that would see PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992) buy the low-end server business from IBM (NYSE: IBM), in a multibillion dollar deal that would have been Lenovo’s largest purchase ever. But my observation from years of reporting this kind of deal is that the story isn’t over yet, and this disagreement is just a negotiating ploy by both sides before they resume their talks and reach a deal. The reason is simple: both sides want to see this deal happen, because it makes too much strategic sense for either to abandon.
