US Treasury report shows growing scrutiny of China M&A bids

An annual report by the US Treasury Department to Congress showed that 24 proposed foreign acquisitions out of a total 147 vetted for national security implications came from China in 2014, marking a new high for the country and its third consecutive year in the top spot, Bloomberg reported. Among deals now under review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US are China National Chemical Corp.’s takeover bid for biotech firm Syngenta AG, Western Digital Corp.’s proposed sale of a 15% stake to Tsinghua Unisplendour Corp., and the planned sale of the Chicago Stock Exchange to Chongqing Casin Enterprise Group.