China’s leading home appliance manufacturing company Midea has disclosed its bid for German robot-making firm Kuka.
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The offering price represents a 59.6% premium to Kuka’s closing price of €72.05 a share on February 3, the day before Midea announced an increase in its stake in Kuka to 10.2%.
Kuka is already helping Midea automate its factories, after the Chinese company doubled its stake to about 10 percent earlier this year, chief executive officer Till Reuter said in March.
Trading of Midea’s shares on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange was suspended on Wednesday, at the company’s request.
According to Fang, Midea would like to have a meaningful stake in KUKA above 30 percent and has no intention of concluding a domination agreement or delisting the company.
One person familiar with the matter said that Midea is considering lifting its stake in Kuka to above 30 percent but doesn’t necessarily seek to gain more than 50 percent or buy Kuka altogether.
“As a traditional producer of durable consumer goods, Midea’s domestic market is nearly saturated”, Huang Fusheng, an analyst at China Securities, told AFP. Kuka also has facilities in US, recorded €1 billion in revenue in North America previous year and supplies clients including vehicle maker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and defense company Northrop Grumman Corp.
Midea Group Co., Ltd.is one of the largest manufacturers of electronic appliances and components in China.
Midea says there is a strong strategic rationale in an increased collaboration between Kuka’s Swisslog business and Midea’s broad logistics operations to drive warehouse and logistics automation in the growing Chinese logistics market.
Chinese aviation and tourism conglomerate HNA said in April it would buy US-based Carlson Hotels, owner of the Radisson brand, to expand its footprint on the American market.
The “made in Germany” label appears to be of a particular attraction for Chinese companies.
Midea first bought a 5.4 percent stake in Kuka in August 2015.
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Families who often run such businesses sometimes find it hard to find suitable successors to take over their firms, opening the door to outside investors.
