China’s Sany to acquire German firm

A recent major Sino-German transaction reflects the growing appetite of cash-rich Chinese companies for bargain buys. Sany Deutschland, a subsidiary of Shanghai-listed Sany Heavy Industry Co, Ltd, and Chinese private-equity company CITIC PE Advisors (Hong Kong) agreed to acquire German pump maker Putzmeister Holding. Ownership of the privately-held firm was previously split between Karl Schlecht Gemeinnützige Stiftung and the Karl Schlecht Familienstiftung.

The acquisition, whose value was put at €360 million by a Shanghai Stock Exchange statement, is one of the largest by a Chinese investor in Germany. It remains subject to approval by relevant supervisory and regulatory authorities. Changsha-based Sany has become one of the PRC’s most acquisitive companies as it seeks to expand its worldwide footprint. The company is owned by Liang Wengen, who last year topped Forbes magazine’s annual list of China’s richest people with a fortune worth US$9.3 billion.

Sany is one of China’s largest manufacturers of construction machinery and the market leader for concrete pumps in China, which is today the world’s largest and fastest-growing market for concrete pumps and other industrial equipment.