Wanxiang looks to courts over A123 Systems acquisitions

Chinese industrial group Wanxiang has said it intends to challenge for the right to acquire a majority stake in A123 Systems, the US manufacturer of military and commercial batteries, which has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The company told the Global Times newspaper in Beijing – a sister publication of the Chinese Communist Party newspaper, the People's Daily – that Wanxiang will not "alter its investment interest" in A123 despite the bankruptcy filing earlier in October and indications that the acquisition was unpalatable in the US due to growing sensitivity over incoming Chinese investment.

"We will not change our ... intention to acquire A123's assets nor the amount of this investment, which is now undergoing examination by the two countries' governments," an unidentified Wanxiang official said on 19 October.

Wanxiang is expected to make a bid for A123's vehicle battery assets in competition against US company Johnson Controls. A123 had said in a statement earlier in October that it had entered an asset purchase agreement with Johnson Controls, although the company's bid must be approved by a US bankruptcy court and could be topped by a rival bidder.