The German government has expanded its powers to block the takeover of German companies amid growing concerns in Berlin at the scale of Chinese dealmaking in the German high-tech sector.
The move is a reaction to last year’s €4.5bn acquisition of Kuka, Germany’s largest maker of industrial robotics, by Midea, a Chinese appliance maker, which raised fears about Germany’s most advanced technology ending up in Chinese hands.
The backlash against Chinese investment claimed its first big victim late last year when Fujian Grand Chip Investment was forced to drop its offer for Aixtron, the German chip equipment maker, after the US authorities objected to the deal on national security grounds. Before that, the German government had abruptly withdrawn its clearance of the takeover and reopened a review of the transaction.