STUTTGART (dpa-AFX) - Chinese investors have sharply reduced their company acquisitions in Europe. Last year, there were still 139 acquisitions or investments by Chinese investors in European companies across Europe, 16 fewer than in 2021, according to an analysis by management consultants EY.

The authors of the study published on Tuesday put the estimated value of these 139 deals at just 4.3 billion dollars (4 billion euros), compared to the previous year, that would be a drop of almost two-thirds. However, EY points out that the purchase prices were not published for the majority of these acquisitions.

The extent of the current Chinese restraint becomes particularly clear in a longer-term comparison with the record year of 2016, when EY counted 309 company acquisitions or investments by Chinese investors in Europe with a total volume of 86 billion euros. Seven years ago, the largest deal in Germany was the purchase of Augsburg-based robot manufacturer Kuka by the Chinese Midea Group, which alone cost an estimated $4.7 billion.

Since then, the figures have fallen almost continuously, and Chinese takeovers are also rare in Germany at present. According to EY, there were only 26 acquisitions or investments in German companies last year, for a total of just under $290 million. The EY figures suggest that buyers from the People's Republic are now avoiding politically controversial large-scale acquisitions in the style of the Kuka takeover.

Apart from political hurdles and tensions between China and the West, EY estimates that draconian covid restrictions in China, which have since ended, also played a role. Travel restrictions and strict quarantine rules have made transactions more difficult, said Sun Yi, head of China Business Services for Western Europe.

This year, more Chinese companies will be on the lookout for takeover candidates in Europe, according to the consultant. "However, the number of deals will continue to be significantly lower than in the boom years, not least because of the political environment," Sun predicted./cho/DP/zb