German bank goes Chinese
July 8, 2015
Shanghai-based Fosun International could become the first-ever Chinese investment group to acquire a majority stake in a German bank after Hauck & Aufhäuser announced on Wednesday that its shareholders had accepted a binding offer for 210 million euros ($232.3 million).
The bid, which was accepted by more than 80 percent of H&A's shareholders, far exceeded analysts' expectations. The deal is still subject to final regulatory approval in Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, where the bank employs over 500 people.
H&A Chairman Wolfgang Deml said the Chinese takeover would "open up new international prospects" for the private Frankfurt-based lender, which was founded in 1796 and specializes in investment banking and asset management for rich and institutional clients.
Acquisition offensive
For Fosun, the acquisition marks the latest chapter in an international expansion offensive. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, the company has announced 10 takeovers in the past year alone worth a combined 5.8 billion euros.
Buying up H&A "affords us better access to Europe's leading economies," Fosun's chairman, Guo Guangchang, said in a statement.
The Chinese investment group is no stranger to the European market. It already owns stakes in Belgian financial services company RHJ, as well as the H&A rival BHF-Bank.
Eyes on Europe
If authorities sign off on the deal, Fosun's latest foray into the EU banking sector is likely to fan skeptics' fears that China, the world's second-biggest economy, is using its purchasing power to gain outsize influence in Europe.
Many critics point to Africa, where Chinese companies have gained a significant foothold in recent years by outbidding the competition on everything from local businesses to large-scale infrastructure projects.
Despite suffering a 2.3 million-euro drop in net income last year - down from 7 million euros in 2013 - H&A has said it is in good shape. Its asset management and equities business achieved "above-average growth" in recent years and that it has increased assets by some 50 percent since 2013, taking the total amount to over 3 billion euros.
pad/cjc (dpa, Reuters)