The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on May 22. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Tsinghua Unigroup To Buy 51 Pct of HP’s (NYSE: HPQ) H3C For $2.5 Bln or More (Chinese article)
Bank Of China (HKEx: 3988) Weighs Overhaul For BOCHK (HKEx: 2388) Unit (HKEx announcement)
Lenovo (HKEx: 992) Reports Results For Quarter Ended March 31 (HKEx announcement)
Bottom line: Tsinghua Unigroup is likely to win the bidding for a controlling stake in HP’s China-based networking equipment unit, and could help HP consolidate its place as one of China’s leading IT service providers.
Bidding war breaks out for HP asset sale
Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) is finding itself in a rare position of power in China, with word that an unusual bidding war has broken out as it looks for a partner to buy a controlling stake in its locally-based networking equipment unit. The development could bring not only a windfall in terms of money HP will get for its H3C Technologies unit, but will also allow it to choose between 2 potent partners to help consolidate its place as one of China’s leading IT services providers.
HP is in the process of splitting itself into 2 as part of a broader restructuring announced last fall. In this case the China-based H3C networking equipment venture would almost certainly go into its new HP Enterprise unit, focused on products and services for corporate customers. The other main unit under the break-up will include HP’s older PC and printer businesses, which will go by the name HP Inc. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Tsinghua Unigroup’s pending purchase of a controlling stake in H3C could mark the start of a new partnership with HP in routers, but is unlikely to affect its older partnership with Intel in the telecoms chips.
HP eyes router stake sale to Unigroup
Semiconductor company Tsinghua Unigroup was already a name to watch after a string of major deals last year including a tie-up with Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), and now it’s adding to its allure with word of a major new alliance with Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ). This latest deal would trump the earlier one from Intel in size, and would see Unigroup buy a controlling 51 percent stake of HP’s China-based H3C unit, which makes routers and switches that compete with US giant Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO).
It’s not completely clear how much Unigroup would pay for the stake, though the amount would almost certainly be more than the $1.5 billion that Intel paid last year for 20 percent of a new company that Unigroup created through its merger of 2 of China’s leading telecoms chip designers. I’m no telecoms expert, but I’ll admit this latest deal is leaving me just a bit puzzled due to the very different natures of the businesses of H3C and the earlier tie-up involving Intel, which revolved around telecoms microchips. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 28-30. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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HP (NYSE: HPQ) To Sell 51 Pct Of H3C Unit To Tsinghua Unigroup, Seeks $5 Bln (Chinese article)
Geely (HKEx: 175) Invests 250 Mln Pounds On British New Energy Taxi Plant (Chinese article)
Gome (HKEx: 493) To Open 100,000 Microstores On WeChat (English article)
China Construction Bank (HKEx: 939) Announces Annual 2014 Results (HKEx announcement)
Telsa (Nasdaq: TSLA) To Localize Production In China In 3 Years: Elon Musk (English article)
Bottom line: A new alliance between SMIC and a leading Chinese chip tester in the buyout of Singapore’s Stats ChipPac could be the latest signal of a Beijing-led drive to consolidate China’s chip sector.
SMIC joins group buying Stats ChipPac
The semiconductor world is buzzing today on news that a Jiangsu-based company will buy Singaporean semiconductor chip maker Stats ChipPac (Singapore: STAT), but what caught my attention was the name of leading Chinese chip maker SMIC (HKEx: 981; NYSE: SMI) as a member of the buyer group. I’ve been saying for many years now that China’s semiconductor sector is sorely in need of consolidation, but that such an overhaul is often blocked by the local stakeholders who often eschew mergers as they look after their own interests. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Intel’s new Chengdu investment is the latest step in its bid to find a market for its mobile chips, by working with China to create a major domestic designer of mobile device chips.
Intel in major upgrade of Chengdu plant
Global tech leader Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) is showing growing signs of placing its bets on China, with word that it’s planning a major upgrade at one of its 2 Chinese chip plants in the interior city of Chengdu. This latest move comes just 2 months after Intel announced another similar-sized investment aimed at consolidating China’s wireless chip sector, leading me to suspect that these 2 moves could be related. When the final picture becomes clearer, I expect we could see similar upgrades also occur at Intel’s newer plant in the northeast city of Dalian, with China poised to become a major center for the company’s belated push into wireless chips. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 16. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Lenovo (HKEx: (992) To Set Up Internet-Focused Smart Device Firm In China (Businesswire)
Wanda Group Travel Unit Buys Zhejiang Everbright Travel Agency (Chinese article)
Integrated Circuit Investment Fund Set Up, Led By Tsinghua Unigroup (Chinese article)
TAL Education (NYSE: XRS) Leads $70 Mln Funding For US Minerva Project (PRNewswire)
Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) Targets 10 Pct Mobile Search Share By Year-End (English article)
There’s a flurry of news in the fund-raising realm, led by word that online lottery company 500.com has sharply cut the size of its upcoming New York IPO following recent successful trading debuts for 2 other companies. At the same time, struggling online clothing seller Vancl has reportedly raised a new $100 million to keep funding its operations, as it looks for elusive profits. Meantime, Nasdaq-listed chipmaker RDA Microelectronics (Nasdaq: RDA) may be moving in the opposite direction of 500.com, with word that it has received a buyout offer that would see its shares de-listed from the Nasdaq. Read Full Post…
There are some interesting news bits at opposite ends of the listing spectrum today, with word that e-commerce giant Alibaba has received a setback in its plans for a Hong Kong IPO, while chipmaker Spreadtrum (Nasdaq: SPRD) is on the cusp of de-listing from the Nasdaq. In the middle of the spectrum is newly listed e-commerce firm LightInTheBox (NYSE: LITB), whose honeymoon after its June IPO has abruptly ended with a rapid tumble in its share price which has resulted in a newly filed shareholder lawsuit. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 5. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 13-15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Glaxo (London: GSK) Executives Admit to Bribery, Tax Crimes, China Says (English article)
Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) In Final Talks To acquires Sogou For $1.4 Bln (English article)
Spreadtrum (Nasdaq: SPRD) Agrees To Be Acquired by Tsinghua Unigroup (PRNewswire)
