Chinese heavy-construction equipment maker Sany Heavy Industry (600331.SH, 0631.HKG) has agreed to join Citic PE Advisors in buying concrete pump maker Putzmeister for US$472 million, Bloomberg reported. Sany will acquire 90% of Putzmeister, a German company with 3,000 employees, while Citic will purchase the remaining 10%. The deal is expected to close March 1, pending regulatory approval. Pumps made by Putzmeister were used in constructing the world’s tallest building as well as in the aftermath of the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan. “The Putzmeister brand will give Sany an appeal that it doesn’t have at the moment to customers in developed countries,” said Liu Rong, an analyst with China Merchants Securities (600999.SH). The deal was the latest in a string of overseas acquisitions by Chinese companies in an effort to gain foreign technology. “The current debt crisis gives Chinese companies opportunities to buy,” Liu said.
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