Osram Licht AG shares yesterday soared to a record high after a report that Sanan Optoelectronics Co Ltd (三安光電) might make a 7.33 billion euro (US$8.21 billion) offer for the maker of lighting products, the latest bid by a Chinese company for a German industrial business.
The stock rose as much as 14 percent to 61.75 euros in Frankfurt, Germany, the greatest gain since the Munich-based company was spun off by Siemens AG three years ago.
Sanan, a Jingzhou, China-based manufacturer of wafers for LEDs, is preparing to offer about 70 euros per share, German business news magazine WirtschaftsWoche reported yesterday, citing people close to the negotiations.
Osram spokesman Philipp Grontzki declined to comment.
Sanan could not be immediately reached by telephone or e-mail as this week is a Chinese national holiday.
“For Sanan, Osram is a highly attractive asset that would add quality and access to customers in Europe,” said Karsten Iltgen, an analyst at Bankhaus Lampe in Dusseldorf, Germany.
“Even though the company is smaller and less profitable than Osram, they may well be able to finance such a transaction with the help of the Chinese government,” Iltgen said.
Chinese companies have announced or completed acquisitions of German companies worth a record 11.3 billion euros so far this year, almost eight times as much as last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The tally includes the purchase of a stake in robot-maker Kuka AG by Midea Group Co (美的集團), a deal that was scrutinized by German lawmakers concerned about the loss of technological knowhow.
A group of Chinese investors in May agreed to buy Aixtron SE, a German supplier of semiconductor equipment, for about 670 million euros. Shares in that company had crashed late last year after Sanan Optoelectronics canceled orders, citing a failure to meet “specific qualification requirements.”
Sanan is behind the latest offer for Aixtron, according to a note at the time by North Square Blue Oak Ltd, an investment bankbased in London and Beijing that focuses its operations on China.
Siemens AG, which still owns 17 percent of Osram shares, is considering offloading its remaining stake to potential buyers, including Chinese investor GSR GO Scale Capital, people familiar with the talks said last month.
Osram in July said it would sell its general lamps unit Ledvance to a Chinese consortium for 400 million euros to focus on its semiconductor, automotive lighting and services businesses.
“This is a political issue,” Iltgen said. “It is also questionable if Siemens is really willing to sell its remaining stake to a Chinese company given the repercussions against Siemens that may follow.”
Sanan’s first-half sales rose to 2.78 billion yuan (US$416 million) from 2.29 billion yuan the previous year, the company said on Aug. 23.
The company is valued at 49 billion yuan.
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