Chongqing Machinery & Electric Company, the Chinese state-controlled industrial group, will this week hold talks about the potential €600m acquisition of Hyva, the Dutch maker of hydraulic cylinders for waste and tipper trucks.
The talks between Chongqing Machinery and 3i, the UK-listed private equity group that bought Hyva for €125m in 2004, coincide with this week’s trade mission to China by David Cameron, the UK prime minister.
Chongqing Machinery – listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange but 70 per cent owned by the Chinese government – is competing with several buy-out groups for Hyva, including Unitas Capital, Bain Capital, Nordic Capital, Actis and Permira.