On Friday, Starwood Hotels agreed to be acquired by Anbang, a Chinese insurance company that is rapidly buying up U.S. hotels, for over $13 billion. Marriott, which had previously made a deal to buy Starwood, is reportedly considering a counter bid. But it’s unlikely that Marriott will be able win a bidding war with the Chinese insurer, which was originally bankrolled by state-owned enterprises and has a war chest of cash filled up by Chinese investors eager for returns.
If it goes through, the Starwood (HOT) deal would be the largest acquisition ever of a U.S. company by a Chinese firm. Recently, Chinese firms have been on a buying spree. This year, Chinese firms have spent $103 billion on acquisitions of foreign firms, not just in the U.S. That’s nearly as much in two and a half months as the $107 billion that Chinese firms spent on foreign purchases in all of last year, which itself was a record.
Here are the biggest U.S. firms to be swallowed, or are soon to be swallowed, by a Chinese company, according to Dealogic.
1) Starwood Hotels
Deal size: $14.3 billion
Acquirer: Anbang Insurance
Date (announced): March 14, 2016
It is the latest hotel acquisition by the Chinese insurer, which last year bought the company that owns New York’s Waldorf-Astoria. Also this week, Anbang announced its was buying a number of hotels owned by Blackstone. Starwood would add 1,300 hotels around the world to Anbang’s portfolio.
2) Smithfield Foods
Deal size: $7.1 billion
Acquirer: Shuanghui International
Date: May 29, 2013
At the time of the deal, Minxin Pei, a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College, wrote, “Some people saw the move by Shuanghui, a private firm based in Henan, as a masterstroke to expand its ability to supply a fast-growing market with premium-brand pork at higher prices. Some view the purchase as a means to acquire valuable hog-farming and processing technology. Others worry that Shuanghui might use Smithfield as a channel to sell its products in the U.S.”
3) Ingram Micro
Deal size: $6.3 billion
Acquirer: Tianjin Tianhai Investement Development Co.
Date (announced): February 17, 2016
No. 62 on the Fortune 500, Ingram Micro (IM) agreed earlier this year to be bought by a Chinese firm that specializes in aviation and logistics.
4) General Electric Appliance Business
Deal size: $5.4 billion
Acquirer: Qingdao Haier Co.
Date (announced): January 15, 2016
General Electric had stumbled in its bid to sell off its appliance division after the U.S. government said it would try to block a deal for the division to be bought by Electrolux. Instead, GE backed out of that deal and struck a new one with China-based Qingdao Haier. Earlier this month, U.S. regulators said they had completed a review of the new deal with no comment.
5) Terex Corp.
Deal size: $5.4 billion
Acquirer: Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science
Date (announced): January 26, 2016
The 83-year-old Connecticut-based company makes machinary for construction, agricultural, and industrial purposes.
6) Legendary Entertainment Group
Deal size: $3.5 billion
Acquirer: Dalian Wanda
Date (announced): January 12, 2016
It is the largest China-Hollywood deal to date. Legendary has co-financed a number of major movies, like Jurassic Park and Straight Outta Compton. A number of the company’s movies, like Godzilla and Pacific Rim, have done well in China.
7) Motorola Mobility
Deal size: $3.1 billion
Acquirer: Lenovo
Date: January 12, 2014
Computer maker Lenovo consolidated its phone business with Motorola’s. The new handsets will go by the brand “Moto.” Lenovo has downsized Motorola’s old business and implemented layoffs. But some of the division’s lower priced phones have sold well.
8) AMC Entertainment Holdings
Deal size: $2.6 billion
Acquirer: Dalian Wanda
Date: May 20, 2012
When Dalian bought AMC, it was the U.S.’s second largest movie chain. But a $1.1 billion acquisition announced earlier this month of Carmike Cinemas has moved AMC into the No. 1 spot.
