Brands that you never knew that were owned by Chinese/Taiwanese companies.

[touchring]

I'm making a list since it is more extensive and surprising to many of us, including myself because unlike Japanese and Korean companies that use their own language for their brands and products, Chinese companies often don't so you can't know a particular brand is Chinese from just the name.

1). Lenovo Thinkpad - I think this is well known to anyone who can use this forum.


This is old news - http://news.lenovo.com/news-releases...g-division.htm

Beijing, China and Armonk, NY – May 1, 2005 – Lenovo Group Limited (HKSE: 992; ADR: LNVGY) and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the closing of the acquisition of IBM’s Personal Computing Division by Lenovo, creating a new international IT competitor and the third-largest personal computing company in the world.

Recently, IBM also sold system x servers to Lenovo.


2). Volvo - should be known to most I believe.




http://fortune.com/2016/10/14/geely-volvo-new-brand/

Volvo Owner Geely Gears Up to Launch Its New Car Brand

Lynk & Co is reportedly targeting the middle market.
Chinese automaker Geely GELYY 0.45% is set to launch a new car brand – Lynk & Co – on Oct. 20, sources said, as it seeks to broaden its appeal by tackling the middle market.


The brand will be used to launch the first vehicle based on the Complex Modular Architecture (CMA) platform developed by Geely and Volvo, which Geely acquired six years ago.


Reuters was first to report in April that Geely would launch a new middle market brand, codenamed “L,” to compete with Chinese-foreign venture cars such as those produced by GM GM 1.14% and SAIC Motor – leaving Volvo to focus on the luxury end and Geely to go up against domestic producers.


The “L” codename represents Lynk & Co, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, a company which has already launched a holding website, showing next week’s launch date.

[GRG55]

Re: Brands that you never knew that were owned by Chinese/Taiwanese companies.

Mooney International, Kerrville TX (formerly Mooney Aviation)

On the English language website the only indication is two subtle Chinese characters. Clicking on them brings up a Chinese language website that includes a Beijing address that is missing from the English language site (which references only the Kerrville, TX headquarters and the Chino, CA design office).

An iconic company in the American general aviation industry, Mooney fell on hard times during the 2008 financial crisis recession, suspending all production and laying off almost all its employees. It was a significant investment from a California company with Chinese connections, Soaring America Corporation, representing a group of Chinese investors, apparently including real estate developer Meijing Group, that re-capitalised the company, restarted production in 2014 and funded the development of a new model in the Mooney line up.

Without this Chinese investor interest there's a very good chance Mooney would be history today.

http://www.mooney.com/ch/About.html

[GRG55]

Re: Brands that you never knew that were owned by Chinese/Taiwanese companies.

Continental Motors, Inc., Mobile, Alabama

One of two largest aircraft piston engine manufacturers in the USA (the other is Lycoming in Williamsport, PA). The company had been part of the Teledyne conglomerate since the late 1960s but was another victim of the global financial crisis and in 2010 Teledyne announced it was selling Continental Motors to a USA subsidiary of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), which is wholly owned by the Chinese government.

AVIC also purchased the German diesel engine manufacturer Thielert out of bankruptcy and it is now a division of Continental Motors, Inc.

http://continentalmotors.aero/Company_Information/

[FrankL]

Re: Brands that you never knew that were owned by Chinese/Taiwanese companies.

Wasn't the Westinghouse brand licensed to various non-US companies in the past?

[GRG55]

Re: Brands that you never knew that were owned by Chinese/Taiwanese companies.

Cirrus Aircraft Corporation, Duluth, Minnesota

Manufacturer of one the highest selling fixed wing airplane series today. Cirrus started life as a kit plane manufacturer in the mid-1980s targeting the amateur built experimental market. It's current designs are certified plastic and carbon fibre composite construction airframes noted for their efficiency and speed using modest horsepower piston engines, combined with state-of-the-art glass panel avionics, ergonomics (side stick controllers in place of the conventional yoke), safety systems in the form of an on-board airframe parachute system, and finishes that emulate a luxury automobile. When I was at Oshkosh 2013 I spoke with one of the factory reps and he told me they were selling every single one of these US $800,000+ aircraft they could churn out of the factory and the backlog at that time was 8 months for a new order.

Cirrus, another victim of the global financial crisis recession, was merged into China Aviation Industry General Aircraft (CAIGA), a USA subsidiary of the Chinese government owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) in 2011. Unlike the Mooney and Continental Motors acqusitions, the Cirrus transaction attracted a lot of nationalist attention at the time, with talk of an all-American counterbid being put together (which never materialised). The fact is majority interest and control of the company was previously held by the USA arm of the First Islamic Bank of Bahrain (Arcapita), which itself fell into difficulty at the onset of the financial crisis.

http://cirrusaircraft.com/

[EJ]

Re: Brands that you never knew that were owned by Chinese/Taiwanese companies.

Sailing Capital, Sanpower Team to Buy Brookstone at Auction

By SARA RANDAZZO - WSJ
June 3, 2014 2:51 p.m. ET

Chinese investment firm Sailing Capital and Chinese conglomerate Sanpower teamed up to buy Brookstone Holdings Corp. for more than $173 million at a Monday bankruptcy auction, according to an attorney working on the case.

Cooley LLP partner Cathy Hershcopf, who is representing Brookstone's unsecured creditors, said on Tuesday that the Chinese consortium, bidding under the name Sailing Innovation, emerged as the winner from a 13-hour auction held Monday at the Boston offices of Brookstone counsel K&L Gates LLP.

The Sailing Innovation consortium's bid, which will form the centerpiece of Brookstone's bankruptcy-exit plan, trumped a competing offer from an affiliate of Spencer Spirit Holdings Inc. The Spencer's affiliate had offered $146.3 million for the company ahead of Brookstone's April bankruptcy filing.

[touchring]

Re: Brands that you never knew that were owned by Chinese/Taiwanese companies.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/.../19/2003607052

Delta Electronics buys Eltek SAS

By Lisa Wang / Staff reporter

Delta Electronics Inc (???), the nation’s top power supply unit maker, is expected to gain a foothold in Europe and Africa, aided by the newly announced acquisition of Norwegian telecom equipment power supply maker Eltek SAS, analysts said.

The 3.9 billion Norwegian krone (US$530.6 million) deal is the first acquisition case by Delta in more than a decade, but analysts expect more such deals are in the pipeline. Companies related to industrial automation, electric vehicles and data centers could be potential Delta targets, they said.
Due to Eltek having a high level of exposure in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and the US, JPMorgan analyst Gokul Hariharan said that this “is quite complementary to Delta’s exposure in telecom power [supply segment], which is predominantly Asia-focused,” according to a report released on Wednesday.
Eltek has generated 46 percent of its revenue from EMEA and 28 percent from the US, he said.

On top of that, the acquisition will help lift Delta’s ranking to the No. 1 in the telecom equipment power supply sector, seizing more than 20 percent market share, Hariharan said.

Hariharan expects the deal to boost Delta’s earnings per share after the transaction is completed in the middle of next year, with meaningful synergies to happen in the long term.

JPMorgan has retained its “overweight” rating on Delta with target price set at NT$220, implying a 38 percent upside from Delta’s closing price of NT$182 yesterday, which rose 2.82 percent from Wednesday.

UBS analyst Arthur Hsieh (???) said he agreed that the Eltek deal could help Delta expand its reach to EMEA and the US, but the contribution from the deal is likely limited, citing slow growth in the telecoms equipment power supply market.

Eltek said the overall telecom power market could see an average growth of 3 or 4 percent next year, while UBS’ global telecom equipment team estimates that capital spending in the telecom sector will contract by 6 percent next year, as 4G coverage spending could peak, Hsieh said in a report released on Wednesday.
Eltek’s telecom and data center power business contributed to about 89 percent of its overall revenue in the third quarter of this year, while the remaining 11 percent came from industrial applications, the report said.

However, Hsieh said that “Delta’s acquisition of Eltek is an optimal use of its cash position.”
As of the end of last quarter, Delta has a cash and cash equivalent balance of roughly NT$63 billion (US$2 billion).
UBS has a “neutral” rating on Delta, given slow growth across the company’s power supplies for PCs, game consoles and telecoms equipment segments, along with a target price of NT$188.

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http://www.wsj.com/articles/tencent-...ell-1466493612

Tencent Seals Deal to Buy ‘Clash of Clans’ Developer Supercell for $8.6 Billion

Chinese internet major’s deal to buy stake from Japan’s SoftBank values Supercell at $10.2 billion

Chinese Internet giant Tencent Holdings is acquiring a majority stake in Supercell, which makes "Clash of Clans," one of the world's highest-grossing mobile games by revenue.

Tencent Holdings Ltd. and its partners will pay $8.6 billion for the Finnish maker of “Clash of Clans,” a deal that will catapult the Chinese internet company to the top of the white-hot market for games played on smartphones and tablets.

The deal for Supercell Oy, Tencent’s biggest-ever acquisition, reinforces the company’s position as the world’s biggest videogame publisher by revenue. It also highlights the Shenzhen-based company’s ambitions beyond China’s borders.

Tencent and its partners are buying an 84.3% stake in Supercell from Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. and the startup’s current and former employees, the companies said Tuesday. The deal values closely held Supercell at $10.2 billion—nearly double its valuation a year ago.

Tencent is little known in the West, but the company’s market capitalization was about $207 billion based on Tuesday’s closing price, more than that of Oracle Corp. and Intel Corp.
Online games accounted for more than half of Tencent’s $15 billion in revenue last year. “We are very bullish on the [mobile games] market,” Tencent President Martin Lau said on a conference call.

Global revenue from mobile games is expected to rise 21% to about $37 billion this year, eclipsing console and personal-computer games, according to market-research firm Newzoo BV.

[dcarrigg]

Re: Brands that you never knew that were owned by Chinese/Taiwanese companies.

Don't forget AMC...the American Multi Cinema, proudly Chinese owned and operated.

[lektrode]

Re: Brands that you never knew that were owned by Chinese/Taiwanese companies.

hey, there he is!!!

nice to see you, Mr J.

[EJ]

Re: Brands that you never knew that were owned by Chinese/Taiwanese companies.

hey, there he is!!!

nice to see you, Mr J.

Thanks. Been busy preparing for... http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/a...d-of-year.aspx

[touchring]

Re: Brands that you never knew that were owned by Chinese/Taiwanese companies.

GERMAN ACQUISITIONS


http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-kraussmaffei-m-a-idUSKCN0UP0YX20160111

ChemChina-led group buys Germany's KraussMaffei for $1 billion in record deal

Ting Cai, chairman and chief executive officer of the China National Chemical Equipment Co. Ltd. (CNCE), Frank Stieler, CEO of the KraussMaffei Group, and Chen Junwei, CEO of the ChemChina Finance Co. Ltd pose for a picture in Frankfurt 2015 in this handout photo. REUTERS/Martin Joppen/KraussMaffei/Handout via Reuters


The biggest-ever Chinese acquisition of a German company was announced on Monday, with a consortium led by state-owned China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) buying industrial machinery maker KraussMaffei Group for about $1 billion.


The deal is the latest example in recent years of deep-pocketed Chinese companies seeking to gain the technological expertise, distribution networks and branding of Western firms, often built up over several decades.


It also comes at a time when China's weakening currency is encouraging companies from the country to shift investments overseas, which is expected to drive more dealmaking this year.


The ChemChina-led consortium, which also includes Guoxin International Investment Corp and private equity firm AGIC Capital, has agreed to buy KraussMaffei from Canada's Onex Corp for 925 million euros, AGIC and Onex said, confirming a Reuters report on Jan 7.


ChemChina will take two-thirds of KraussMaffei, which started out as a locomotive maker in Munich in the 1830s before expanding into tank-making in the 1930s, and now manufactures machinery for processing plastics and rubber.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/putzm...8CU4XI20120130

Sany Heavy paying $473 mln for Putzmeister


Jan 30 China's Sany Heavy Industry Co Ltd has agreed to pay 360 million euros ($473 million) for privately owned German concrete pump maker Putzmeister Holding GmbH, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Monday.


Sany, controlled by China's richest man, Liang Wengen, is also assuming an undisclosed amount of the German company's debt, the source told Reuters. The German company's 2011 sales are estimated to be about 560 million euros, the source added.


Sany will contribute 90 percent of deal value, with private equity fund CITIC PE Advisors providing the rest

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https://www.ft.com/content/6fefe06a-...0-04585c31b153

China's Midea buys nearly half of German robotics firm Kuka

FRANKFURT: Chinese appliances giant Midea moved a step closer to fulfilling its ambition to acquire German industrial robotics firm Kuka with two weekend deals raising its stake to nearly a majority.


Two of Kuka's biggest German shareholders - technology company Voith and entrepreneur Friedhelm Loh - said they had decided to take up Midea's offer of 115 euros ($128) per share and sell their stakes.


German news agency DPA reported that Voith had agreed to sell its stake of 25.1 per cent for 1.2 billion euros.


And Loh told the business daily Handelsblatt he had decided to sell his stake of 10 per cent for nearly 500 million euros.


Combined with its existing holding of 13.5 per cent in Kuka, the two purchases mean Midea now holds 48.5 per cent, or not far from the outright majority, in the Augsburg-based robot builder.


Loh, who sits on Kuka's supervisory board, insisted that he had not consulted Voith about his decision beforehand.


"Every shareholder must decide for themselves based on their own interests," he told the newspaper.


Initially, Midea's offer - which values Kuka at more than four billion euros - will run July 15.


But Kuka's management is recommending shareholders accept it and has signed a long-term investor contract with the Chinese firm until 2023.


Nevertheless, critics are worried about German know-how and technology being sold into Chinese hands.


A growing list of German companies, such as Kion, Putzmeister and KraussMaffei have come under Chinese ownership in recent years.


Kuka, based in the German city of Augsburg, describes itself as one of the world's leading manufacturers of industrial robots and also offers automated systems for manufacturing.


The powerful IG Metall trade union had pushed for the Voith stake to remain in German hands - but no competing buyer came forward.

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https://www.ft.com/content/ada782e2-...d-c11776a5124d

Chinese investors to buy German tech company Aixtron for €670m

A group of Chinese investors has offered €6 a share to buy Aixtron, valuing the German supplier of semiconductor equipment at about €670m, in the latest case of a mainland acquisition of a western industrial company.


Aixtron, which makes equipment used in LED lighting, said on Monday that it had agreed to a takeover by Grand Chip Investment, the German arm of Fujian Grand Chip Investment Fund. The Chinese group is controlled by Zhendong Liu, a Chinese businessman who owns 51 per cent of the fund. Xiamen Bohao Investment owns the remaining 49 per cent.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/osram...-idUSL8N1AC5WV

UPDATE 1-Osram sells lamps unit to Chinese buyers for more than 400 mln euros


FRANKFURT, July 26 Germany's Osram has agreed to sell Ledvance, a general lighting lamps business it has carved out, to a Chinese consortium for more than 400 million euros ($439 million).


Osram said on Tuesday it will also receive unspecified payments for license agreements of trademark rights and that the buying consortium, comprising strategic investor IDG Capital Partners, Chinese lighting company MLS Co Ltd and financial investor Yiwu State-Owned Assets Operation Center, will finance the purchase with equity.


Osram said in a statement that deals with workers were safeguarded, with no change to works agreements or social plans until the end of 2018. "The entire collective agreement and dismissal protection for the German workforce are preserved."


While the traditional light bulb business is expected to decline as more energy efficient technologies like light-emitting diodes (LEDs) emerge, the business is interesting for Chinese buyers who want brand and distribution channels in Europe and the United States.


In the 2015 fiscal year general lighting amounted to around 40 percent of Osram turnover, or approximately 2 billion euros.


ALSO IN PRIVATE EQUITY


BRIEF-Castle Creek Pharmaceuticals - has sold $48 mln in equity financing - SEC filing
BRIEF-Emmaus Life Sciences says has raised $20 mln in equity financing - sec filing
Osram said that Ledvance, which had about 8,800 employees as of July 1, would continue to use the Osram and Sylvania brand names and intellectual property rights were clearly allocated.


The German company, which is due to publish quarterly financial results on Wednesday, said it expected to close the deal in the course of its fiscal 2016/17 year.

---------------------------------------------

https://www.ffg-werke.com/en/news/pr...uppe-ab-1.html

Fair Friend Group completes acquisition of MAG Group


Closing of transaction completed having received all required regulatory approvals
MAG joins one of the largest and fastest growing machine tool groups and will benefit from FFG’s global footprint and financial strength
Established MAG brand will become one of FFG’s key brands in the field of automotive applications
FFG’s machine tool division to generate annual sales of more than USD 2.3 billion (including MAG Group)
Taipei/Eislingen, November 30, 2015. The international Fair Friend Group (“FFG”) and MAG Group today announced that the acquisition of MAG Group by FFG has been completed, having received all required regulatory approvals.


Taiwan based FFG is a world leading industrial conglomerate operating in the fields of Machine Tool Technology, PCB (Printed Circuit Board), Industrial Equipment and Green Technology. With the acquisition of MAG Group, a leading machine tool manufacturer for the automotive industry, FFG’s machine tool division strengthens its position as one of the premier global machine tool suppliers. The acquisition is complementary to the existing portfolio, and will broaden FFG’s machine tool offering in the automotive industry.


FFG’s machine tool division covers a large variety of industries, including Aerospace, Railway, Mould and Die, Electronics, and Automotive. With MAG’s seven production facilities, FFG increases the number of machine tool factories to 51 across the globe, now covering Taiwan, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Japan, South Korea, China, Switzerland, India and the USA with a total of 32 brands. With over 6000 employees, the machine tool division of FFG, including the MAG Group, generates an annual turnover of more than USD 2.3 billion.

[GRG55]

Re: Brands that you never knew that were owned by Chinese/Taiwanese companies.

GERMAN ACQUISITIONS


...

And, as ever, still a sensitive issue:

Sun Oct 16, 2016 | 4:28am EDT

Germany considers protecting firms from foreign takeovers

[Reuters] The German Economy Ministry wants to protect high tech companies in Germany from unwanted takeovers, especially from state-owned and partly state-owned companies in non-European countries, a German newspaper reported on Sunday.

Welt am Sonntag (WamS) said Deputy Economy Minister Matthias Machnig had in the past week sent to members of the German government a paper containing six key points for reviewing investment at the European Union level.

The paper foresees wide-reaching rights for the EU and national governments to prohibit company acquisitions by investors in non-EU countries, the newspaper said.

The issue of foreign takeovers has come to the fore in Germany with Chinese home appliance maker Midea (000333.SZ) buying German robot maker Kuka (KU2G.DE) and Chinese chipmaker Sanan Optoelectronics (600703.SS) saying on Monday it had been in contact with German lighting group Osram (OSRn.DE) about a potential acquisition or cooperation deal...

[touchring]

Re: Brands that you never knew that were owned by Chinese/Taiwanese companies.

And, as ever, still a sensitive issue:

Sun Oct 16, 2016 | 4:28am EDT

Germany considers protecting firms from foreign takeovers

[Reuters] The German Economy Ministry wants to protect high tech companies in Germany from unwanted takeovers, especially from state-owned and partly state-owned companies in non-European countries, a German newspaper reported on Sunday.

Welt am Sonntag (WamS) said Deputy Economy Minister Matthias Machnig had in the past week sent to members of the German government a paper containing six key points for reviewing investment at the European Union level.

The paper foresees wide-reaching rights for the EU and national governments to prohibit company acquisitions by investors in non-EU countries, the newspaper said.

The issue of foreign takeovers has come to the fore in Germany with Chinese home appliance maker Midea (000333.SZ) buying German robot maker Kuka (KU2G.DE) and Chinese chipmaker Sanan Optoelectronics (600703.SS) saying on Monday it had been in contact with German lighting group Osram (OSRn.DE) about a potential acquisition or cooperation deal...

I'm not surprised. The Chinese must have acquired thousands of companies in Germany in the past couple of years. For every billion dollar deal you read on the papers, there maybe half a dozen of hundred million dollars deals, dozens of tens of millions of dollars deals, and hundreds of 1-10 million dollar acquisitions and thousands of 500k-1 million dollar deals.

Even an idiot will know what happens if this continues for another 10 more years. The question is, if the bankers realize they are not winning the game, will they change the rules? It may well be too late by then because they don't own the game.

[lakedaemonian]

Re: Brands that you never knew that were owned by Chinese/Taiwanese companies.

MG Rover in the U.K.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/inside-...d-mg-motor-co/

[lakedaemonian]

Re: Brands that you never knew that were owned by Chinese/Taiwanese companies.

Ingram Micro

in the top 20% of the Forbes 500:

http://blogs.wsj.com/cfo/2016/07/21/...-cfius-review/