The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on August 31. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China’s Big Banks Set for Hard Slog as Margins Shrink (English article)
Midea (Shenzhen: 000333) H1 Profit up 13 Pct, Gets US Clearance for Kuka Buy (Chinese article)
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on August 9. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Cleanup Sees More Than 10,000 Apps Removed From China Store (Chinese article)
LeEco (Shenzhen: 300104) Founder Jia Yueting Named Chairman of Coolpad (HKEx: 2369) (Chinese article)
Alipay Enters Europe with Service for Overseas Chinese Shoppers (Chinese article)
China Media Corp Invests in US Virtual Reality Company NextVR (Chinese article)
Midea (Shenzhen: 000333) to Control 94.55 Pct of Kuka Shares as Offer Period Ends (Chinese article)
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on July 21. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Strong Demand From China Buoys Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) Forecast (English article)
Midea (Shenzhen: 000333) Takes 85.69 Pct of Kuka After Tender Offer (Chinese article)
China Second, Behind US, on 2016 Fortune 500 List of Biggest Global Companies (English article)
China Box Office Growth Slows to 21 Pct in H1, Unlikely to Reach 60 Bln Yuan Target (Chinese article)
China Film Plans Nation’s Largest Entertainment-Industry IPO (English article)
Bottom line: Baidu’s Robin Li could announce a deal later this week to buy 40 percent of soccer club AC Milan, while his company’s pursuit of Paramount was likely killed by internal fighting at the Hollywood studio.
Paramount spurns Baidu, Wanda
Internet search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) is in a couple of major entertainment headlines as the new week begins, led by word that it could finally announce a highly anticipated deal that would see it buy a major stake of European football club AC Milan. At the same time, separate new reports are saying that the company was rejected in a recent bid for a strategic stake in Hollywood giant Paramount, the studio arm of Viacom (NYSE: VIAb). Those same reports are saying Wanda Group, another Chinese entertainment aspirant, was also rejected in pursuit of a similar deal. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on July 14. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China’s Wanda Buys Britain’s Odeon Cinema Group for $1.2 Bln (English article)
BYD (HKEx: 1211) Loses Bulk of $270 Mln Electric Bus Order in China (English article)
Huawei, Midea (Shenzhen: 000333) Team Up in Smart Home Devices (Chinese article)
Ku6 Media (Nasdaq: KUTV) Announces Completion of Merger (PRNewswire)
Aluminum Distributor Fubang Jingye to Buy Mobile Game Firms Crimoon, Skymoons (English article)
Bottom line: A new marriage between Midea and Kuka may get off to a rocky start due to cultural differences, but could ultimately do well and see the formation of a joint venture to sell industrial robots in China.
Midea and Kuka tie the knot
After a tense 2 months, a controversial tie-up between Chinese home appliance maker Midea (Shenzhen: 000333) and German robotics firm Kuka (Frankfurt: KU2) has just taken a major step forward, with the former sharply boosting its stake in the latter. Midea took the $1.3 billion step after providing numerous assurances to Berlin, including guarantees that it didn’t plan to relocate German jobs to China or take over Kuka’s management.
The step forward looks like a big victory for free trade, as it shows that governments like Germany won’t meddle in market-driven M&A and other cross-border tie-ups even when they involve cutting-edge technology. But this new cross-border marriage is just beginning, and I suspect there will be many bumps in the road ahead as this pair from very different cultural backgrounds gets to know each other. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on July 5. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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CICC (HKEx: 3908), China Investment Securities Said to Be in Merger Talks (English article)
Midea (Shenzhen: 000333) Buys Stake in Germany’s Kuka (Frankfurt: KU2) for $1.3 Bln (English article)
Fosun (HKEx: 656), Ant Financial in Strategic Partnership (Chinese article)
Kingsoft (HKEx: 3888) Makes $125 Mln H1 Provision for Losses at Xunlei, 21Vianet (HKEx announcement)
Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) Completes Literature Unit Sale to Perfect World, No Price Given (Chinese article)
Bottom line: A rumored Chinese purchase of 80 percent of AC Milan, together with a new Chinese soccer buy in Australia and NBA purchase in the US, show a recent Chinese buying spree of western sports teams continues to gain momentum.
China in 3 new foreign sports team investments
China’s roll into western sports teams continues, led by word that a Chinese group including Baidu’s (Nasdaq: BIDU) chief Robin Li is on the cusp of a deal to buy 80 percent of soccer club AC Milan for 750 million euros. But that group isn’t the only one making soccer headlines, as a Shenzhen businessman has also reportedly bought Australia’s Newcastle United Jets club. And my prediction that someone in China would make a bid for an NBA club in the US is also in the news, with word that a businessman from southern Fujian province has purchased a small stake in the Minnesota Timberwolves. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Midea’s purchase of Germany’s Kuka and Italy’s Clivet, and SMIC’s purchase of Italy’s LFoundry represent a wave of opportunistic buying by Chinese firms in Europe, with more such deals to come under Beijing’s directive to go global.
Midea buys Italy’s Clivet
A sluggish European economy, made worse by last week’s shock Brexit, is providing fertile shopping ground for Chinese firms, with 3 large deals in the headlines as the new week begins. Two of those involve home appliance maker Midea (Shenzhen: 000333), whose controversial and very expensive plan to buy a big stake in German robotics maker Kuka (Frankfurt: KU2G) looks set to reach a final agreement this week. At the same time, Midea has reached another deal to buy an Italian rival in the air conditioner space. Last but not least, faded semiconductor maker SMIC (HKEx: 981; NYSE: SMI) has announced another deal in Italy to buy the smaller rival LFoundry. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Midea’s investment in Kuka is likely to move ahead and could be successful, but will be far more costly than a Chinese joint venture between the 2 sides that would have achieved most of Midea’s objectives.
Berlin OKs Midea’s Kuka investment
After showing growing signs of collapse, a deal that would see Chinese appliance giant Midea (Shenzhen: 000333) buy a large stake in German industrial robotics firm Kuka (Frankfurt: KU2) is suddenly springing back to life, with word the deal has received the official nod from Berlin. But Berlin is only giving its approval with a number of major conditions, including reassurances that Midea won’t try to buy a majority of Kuka and also that Kuka’s German-based jobs will be protected. Such a compromise looks promising and could ultimately help to seal the deal. But it also raises the question of why exactly Midea needs to make this particular form of investment. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on June 17. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) Rejects Investment Proposal From CEO, Seeks Other Options (PRNewswire)
