China’s US Buying Spree Is Fizzling Out
Chinese companies have had a nearly insatiable appetite for US acquisitions as of late, and while that appetite is likely to remain, growing political pushback is going to make it harder for Chinese firms to deliver on it.
A slowdown at home has pushed Chinese companies to look abroad, particularly toward the US, but their ambitions are being frustrated. Failed Chinese overseas acquisitions are hitting levels not seen since 2009. Take Anbang Insurance Group’s $14B offer for Starwood Hotels & Resorts earlier this year as an example. It was destroyed, in large part, by opposition in Washington, Bloomberg reports.
With several other failed deals on the books, like Tsinghua Unigroup’s $23B attempt to acquire Micron, it’s beginning to look like China’s US buying spree is fizzling out and that future Chinese bidders may need to start focusing on minority stakes in US companies. [Bloomberg]
