Chinese acquisitions of US assets and businesses are running at record levels this year, bucking the trend of a generally tough mergers and acquisitions market and a sign that it is easier than many think for Chinese companies to attain approval for deals in America.
Almost $8bn of deals have been announced so far this year, led by Dalian Wanda’s $2.6bn takeover of AMC Entertainment, the US cinema chain, and Sinopec’s $2.4bn acquisition of big stakes in a number of oil and gas developments from Devon Energy.
The $7.8bn total is a record for the first eight months of any year and is approaching the full-year record of $8.9bn for Chinese deals buying into the US set in 2007, according to data from Dealogic.