CHINA/COMMERCE/TRADE DEALS: “The U.S. is toughening its scrutiny of Chinese deals, throwing a number of high-profile takeover bids into question and helping spur a huge case backlog, according to people familiar with the process.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. has signaled there are significant obstacles facing the proposed $1.2 billion purchase of Dallas-based payments firm MoneyGram International Inc. by Ant Financial Services Group, controlled by Chinese billionaire and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. co-founder Jack Ma, some of the people said.
The committee, known as CFIUS, didn’t green-light the deal by a recent deadline, the people said. Ant refiled its application, and Mr. Ma has continued a charm campaign that included a meeting Tuesday with 20 U.S. and Chinese executives at the U.S. Department of Commerce…
Though refiled deals can still be approved, delays can be symptomatic of committee concerns, said people familiar with the process. At least one smaller Chinese deal to buy a U.S. Wi-Fi hotspot business collapsed last month after failing three times to get approval.”
-Kate O’Keeffe and Julie Steinberg, “U.S. Message to China: Hands Off Our Companies,” The Wall Street Journal online, July 21, 2017 05:52pm