周厚健的冒险

Prudential Hisense turns aggressive

沸沸扬扬了八九个月的“海信收购科龙”一案，终于临近收官。4月21日，科龙电器（000921）发布公告称，大股东广东格林柯尔企业发展有限公司已与青岛海信空调有限公司签定了股份转让补充协议，前者将所持有26.45％的科龙电器股份以6．8亿元价格转让给后者。

China's leading appliance manufacturer Hisense Group marks a significant break from its former prudential profile by cutting an aggressive deal on April 21 st. After going through many twists and turns, the Qingdao-based company finally formally announces to spend 680 million yuan (US$85 million) on purchasing a 26.43 percent stake in Guangdong Kelon Electrical Holdings, a white goods producer on the verge of bankruptcy. This follows a series of small acquisitions Hisense has made since 2004 as the company seeks to expand its capacity. Kelon is dually listed in A- and H-share markets and owns several killer brands in the white goods market. This acquisition offers Hisense additional fund raising platforms and is believed to substantially boost its presence in the refrigerator and air-conditioner markets. Furthermore, Kelon's vast sales network abroad is also a valuable asset for Hisense, which has been planning an overseas expansion for a long time. However, Hisense still faces a high risk in consolidating Kelon's assets with its own operations, especially in the fields like corporate culture. Besides, the complex relationship between the local government and local enterprises could pose serious challenges to Hisense, as some outside investors have failed in Shunde, the city where Kelon is based. At last, Hisense should be more careful with its finance structure, as the company's ratio of debt to asset has reached a relative high level by end 2005.