Takeover gets green light

Source: Xinhua | 2018-04-27

GERMANY’S Economy Ministry has approved the takeover of German aerospace supplier Cotesa by China’s Advanced Technology and Materials.

Cotesa’s chief executive officer Joerg Huesken confirmed to German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung on Wednesday that the deal finally got approval from the German government after a months-long investigation. It was the first takeover conducted by Chinese investors that was approved by the German government since it reformed its rules on foreign acquisitions in July 2017.

Cotesa, a mid-sized German firm that makes composite fiber components for aircraft producers such as Airbus and Boeing, signed a takeover contract last September with AT&M for between 100 million and 200 million euros (US$122 million-US$244 million).

But the ministry intervened last December and investigated the acquisition to “check whether it complies with Germany’s law on foreign trade.”

The ministry has also raised the investigation time from previous two months to up to four months.