Steinway Musical Instruments Inc, the legendary piano maker controlled by US hedge fund billionaire John Paulson, has attracted takeover interest from China Poly Group Corp (中國保利集團), people familiar with the matter said.
The Chinese state-owned conglomerate is in the early stages of considering an offer for Steinway, the people said.
Other suitors might also emerge for the business, said the people, who asked not to be identified, because the deliberations are private.
Steinway should be able to fetch a high valuation given that the company might reach 30 percent to 40 percent annual sales growth in China, China Market Research Group founder and managing director Shaun Rein said yesterday.
A Chinese company like Poly Group could help improve Steinway’s distribution network in the country, which has been weak so far, he said.
“Steinway has massive potential in China, as consumers love the brand,” Rein said by telephone. “As Chinese middle-class families get wealthier, they’ll be willing to spend on a luxury piano for their kids, as they see music as a key part of their education. And nobody beats Steinway on that.”
Poly Group started in 1992 as a supplier of defense equipment for the Chinese military. The conglomerate now has operations spanning explosives manufacturing, real estate, mining, cinemas and the arts.
Hong Kong-listed unit Poly Culture Group Corp (保利文化集團) owns China’s biggest homegrown auction house and runs a chain of theaters that have hosted musicals like Cats and performances by the likes of the London Symphony Orchestra.
Paulson’s New York-based investment firm Paulson & Co agreed to acquire Steinway in 2013 for about US$512 million, beating rival bidders, including South Korea’s Samick Musical Instruments Co.
The piano maker that gave the company its name was founded in 1853 by German immigrant Henry Engelhard Steinway in a Manhattan loft on Varick Street, and over the following decades became a brand recognized worldwide.
In March, it opened a new Asia-Pacific headquarters in Shanghai.
Paulson has a net worth of US$5.5 billion, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index showed.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
Industrial production expanded 22.31 percent annually last month to 107.51, as increases in demand for high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications drove demand for locally-made chips and components. The manufacturing production index climbed 23.68 percent year-on-year to 108.37, marking the 14th consecutive month of increase, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. In the first four months of this year, industrial and manufacturing production indices expanded 14.31 percent and 15.22 percent year-on-year, ministry data showed. The growth momentum is to extend into this month, with the manufacturing production index expected to rise between 11 percent and 15.1 percent annually, Department of Statistics
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
RSS