Hummer deal with China's Tengzhong looking shaky

[Blackseal]

It looks like General Motors' deal to sell its Hummer brand to China's Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery is on shaky ground. According to Reuters, the likelihood that the Chinese government will give its approval to Tengzhong has been waning in recent weeks, leading the would-be purchasers to consider making the acquisition using an offshore investment vehicle to skirt the need for Chinese regulatory approval. GM and Tengzhong had originally set a January 31st deadline to complete the sale, later extending that time frame to February 28th.

 

The Chinese National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce are thought to have taken issue with the idea of such an environmentally unfriendly automaker coming under Chinese ownership. Further, Tengzhong has never actually made a passenger vehicle, and China already has over 100 companies producing automobiles and the government has gone on record saying it would like to reduce that number. Stay tuned.