Op-Ed Contributors

Big is not enough for overseas deals

By Andre Loesekrug-Pietri (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-04-07 08:00

Overseas acquisitions by Chinese companies will be a major trend in the coming years. This is confirmed by the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) and declarations made by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce. But it is loaded with challenges.

First, the United States Committee on Foreign Investments halted Huawei's deal for 3-Leaf. Now, Bright Food has fallen out of the race for Yoplait despite having offered the best price. Some observers may call it protectionism, aimed at excluding Chinese companies from investing in the best assets. The answer, however, is not that simple.

After all, many deals have been successful. According to Ministry of Commerce figures, China's overseas direct investment was $59 billion in 2010, and it is expected to double by 2015. So why did some deals fail and Geely and Fosun succeeded?

Related readings:  Chinese M&A to focus on domestic consolidation

In one of the most competitive bidding processes for a European company (Yoplait), US conglomerate General Mills won the fight against Bright Food, Lactalis and Nestle, to name just a few contenders bidding for the world's second largest yogurt producer. French private equity company PAI, 50 percent co-owner of Yoplait, wanted to sell its stake but shared the choice of buyer with Yoplait's co-owner, Sodiaal, a major farmers' cooperative.

Bright Food emerged as a serious bidder, with its representatives having spent weeks in France meeting all Yopliat stakeholders. They reportedly offered the highest price, sparkling prospects in the Chinese market, guaranteed jobs in France and promised to maximize value for Sodiaal. Yet they couldn't win the French farmers' hearts.

Instead, the deal is going to Yoplait's long-time US distributor General Mills. This has happened despite the recent souring of relations between them over the terms of their franchising contract. Did cultural differences play a role here? Aren't French farmers interested in maximizing their profit? Or did other reasons prevent the Chinese bid from going through?

Chinese firms could learn from these experiences. Multiple reasons, in our view, explain why many deals don't succeed. First, Chinese companies are still unknown to a huge majority of people in Europe and the US. Being unknown doesn't create the level of trust needed to engage local governments, unions, managements and the public as a whole. All these stakeholders become the key factor, especially when famous assets are up for sale.