Last week, it was reported that General Motors had signed a definitive agreement
to sell Hummer to Chinese machinery manufacturer Tengzhong. The Chinese company
and its partner in the deal, Lumena Resources Corp., would pay $150 million and
receive Hummer and its intellectual property, ownership of U.S. franchise
agreements, and manufacturing, business, and component assistance during a four-
or five-year transition period.
The questions being raised now concern what is happening on the other side of
the Pacific. The Chinese Commerce Ministry reportedly hasn't received
Tengzhong's application to officially bring Hummer home, which has led observers
to wonder if there will be a holdup or reversal of the deal. According to a
Hummer representative, however...
Tengzhong had to finalize the deal with GM before it could present it for
approval to the Chinese authorities:
The closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and
regulatory approvals and/or review by agencies in China and the U.S. Tengzhong
has started communicating with the relevant regulatory bodies and will continue
to support the application process in accordance with the requirements. Formal
engagement was only able to begin with the signing of the definitive agreement.
If all goes well, Tengzhong hopes to
have the
deal closed by early 2010.
