Midea $4.5 billion bid for Kuka

Overview:

• Chinese home appliance maker Midea Group has made a $4.5 billion proposal to buy German robot maker Kuka.
• Midea has offered $129 apiece for all Kuka’s outstanding shares, but doesn’t intend to buy a 100% stake in Kuka—it currently owns 13.5%.
• The Shenzhen-based company plans to maintain Kuka’s independence and its status as a publicly listed company, but an attempt to buy a stake larger than 30% triggers a regulatory obligation under German law to make an offer for all Kuka shares.
• The deal will also allow Midea access to an advanced digitised warehouse and distribution system developed by Kuka’s subsidiary Swisslog.
• Based in southern Germany’s Augsburg, Kuka makes industrial robots used in areas including construction, logistics, food and beverage and film making.
• Midea hopes that the Kuka deal will help improve its own production automation, it is one of China’s largest manufacturers of appliances such as air conditioners and refrigerators.
• In March, Midea acquired an 80% stake in Japanese giant Toshiba’s home appliance unit for $477 million.
• Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (Richard Perks, Arend von Riegen) is representing Midea Group.
• Linklaters is representing Morgan Stanley as the financial adviser to Midea.
• Herbert Smith Freehills (Laure Bonin, Romain Guirault) advised ICBC Paris as lender on the deal.

Adam Majeed - Asia Editor