A Chinese machinery group is reportedly in exclusive talks with Chicago-based investment firm Madison Capital to buy its German rival KraussMaffei Technologies, according to a story by the Reuters news agency.
The deal – which could fetch as much as EUR700 million (US$908 million) – would be the latest in a string of Chinese outbound acquisitions in Germany. To gain access to technology, brands and worldwide distribution, Chinese companies this year have already acquired a number of German rivals, including machinery manufacturers Schwing and Putzmeister which were bought by XCMG and Sany, respectively.
As reported by Reuters, the prospective buyer of KraussMaffei is an independent Chinese company.
Madison Capital bought the plastics machinery group, which is world’s largest manufacturer of plastics equipment, in 2006. Munich-based KraussMaffei Group employs approximately 4,000 people worldwide, building injection molding machines, extruders, and reaction injection molding machines. The group manufactures the KraussMaffei, Berstorff, and Netstal machinery brands.