32 famous Western brands bought by the Chinese
China's mega spending spree
Chinese firms have been busily snapping up Western brands for quite some time now, and 2016 has seen a record £161 billion worth of deals. Chinese businesses benefit from the recognition and prestige these iconic brands enjoy, not to mention the technology and distribution channels developed by their parent companies. Here are some well-known Western brands you might not have known are now majority- or wholly-owned by the Chinese.
Volvo
Renowned for its super-safe, perennially reliable cars, the vehicles arm of the much-loved Swedish automotive company was sold by Ford to China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group for £1 billion in 2010.
London cabs
The Zhejiang Geely Holding Group followed up its purchase of Volvo in 2013 by buying The London Taxi Company (formerly Manganese Bronze), the firm that produces the most popular model of London's iconic black cab.
GE Appliances
One of America's most famous manufacturers of refrigerators, dishwashers and other household gadgetry, General Electric's appliance division was snapped up earlier this year for £4.3 billion by Chinese white goods company Haier.
Gieves & Hawkes
The venerable tailor from London's famous Savile Row was established way back in 1771 and former clients have included Horatio Nelson and Charlie Chaplin. Gieves & Hawkes was sold in 2012 for £92.5 million to Hong Kong's Trinity, which has embarked on an ambitious expansion program in the UK and China.
Cerruti
Trinity also owns prestigious Italian fashion brand Cerruti. Famed for its luxurious men's suits and classic 1881 fragrance, the brand was bought by the Hong Kong-based company for £56.3 million in 2010.
Weetabix
The UK's second biggest cereal manufacturer, which also makes breakfast cereal classics Ready Brek and Alpen, was taken over by Shanghai-based company Bright Foods in 2012. The Chinese firm paid £1.2 billion for a 60% controlling stake.
Smithfield
Smithfield Foods, America's premier pork producer, includes brands like Smithfield and Cook's in its portfolio. China's Shuanghui Group, the world's leading pork producer, bought the company for £3.8 billion in 2013.
Club Med
Last year, Chinese investment company Fosun International forked out £861 million to acquire the quintessentially French all-inclusive vacation brand, which it hopes to launch in the Chinese market.
Hoover USA
The US division of the vacuum cleaner company was sold by Whirlpool to Hong Kong-based investment company Techtronic Industries in 2007 for £86.8 million.
Grindr
The world's biggest gay dating app is now majority-owned by Chinese online gaming company Beijing Kunlun Tech. The firm, which helped launch Rovio's Angry Birds game in China, paid £75 million earlier this year for a 60% stake.
Motorola
America's Motorola is controlled by Chinese home computing giant Lenovo, which acquired Motorola Mobility in 2014. The company currently produces a range of Android-powered smartphones.
Inter Milan
The first Italian Serie A football club to fall under majority Chinese ownership, Inter Milan was taken over by Nanjing's Suning Holdings Group earlier this year. The Chinese company paid £232 million for a 69% stake in the famous club.
AC Milan
Inter's arch rival AC Milan has also fallen into Chinese ownership. In August, former Italian President Silvio Berlusconi sold AC Milan in its entirety to a consortium of Chinese investors for £637 million, ending his 30-year tenure at the club.
Hamleys
Hamleys is one of the most famous toy store brands in the world and a major tourist attraction. Now wholly Chinese-owned, the Regent Street institution was bought by Nanjing-based footwear company C.banner for £100 million in October last year.
MG
The automotive brand was rescued by Shanghai-based SAIC Motor in 2005 following the collapse of its parent company MG Rover. SAIC Motor has recently ceased production at MG's Longbridge plant and moved all operations to China.
Waldorf Astoria
Synonymous with Big Apple glitz and glamour, the landmark Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City was acquired by Chinese Insurance giant Angbang Insurance Group in 2014 for £1.57 billion. The group is planning to convert some of the hotel's rooms into luxury condos.
Pirelli
Last year, the state-owned China National Chemical Corporation parted with a massive £6.1 billion to buy the eminent Italian firm, famed for its tires and 'arty' calendars. The multi-billion dollar deal is the biggest Chinese acquisition of an Italian company to date.
House of Fraser
The department store chain, which boasts 60 branches across the UK and Ireland, is controlled by Chinese conglomerate Sanpower. Headed by tycoon Yuan Yafei, Sanpower paid £450 million for an 89% stake in the company in 2014.
AMC Theaters
Dalian Wanda, the Chinese conglomerate run by the country's richest man Wang Jianlin, acquired North American cinema behemoth AMC Theaters £2.1 billion in 2012. The Chinese group now controls 5,048 cinema screens in 347 venues across the US and Canada.
Sunseeker
A year later, Dalian Wanda bought a majority stake in Sunseeker, Britain's largest luxury yacht-maker and the seafaring brand of choice for James Bond, splashing out £320 million for a 91.8% stake.
Ironman
Last year, Dalian Wanda raided the company coffers yet again to snap up the World Triathlon Corp from America's Providence Equity Partners LLC in a deal worth £733 million. The corporation owns the world-famous Ironman brand and organises triathlon events worldwide.
Rotary
The Swiss watch brand, which was established in 1895, is now owned by Hong Kong's Citychamp Watch & Jewellery Group, which also counts Swiss timepiece brands Corum, Eterna and Rossini in its portfolio.
Superdrug
Superdrug is one of Britain's best-known pharmacy brands, second only to Boots. Its parent company was acquired by AS Watson, the retail arm of Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa in 2002.
Wiko
Chinese conglomerate Tinno Mobile owns a majority stake in this French smartphone company, which makes all its devices in China. Founded in 2011, Wiko is now France's second biggest smartphone firm.
PizzaExpress
A familiar sight in high streets across the UK, PizzaExpress started out in 1969 as a small artisan pizza joint in London's Soho. The restaurant chain, which has since expanded globally, was bought by Chinese private equity firm Hony Capital in 2014 for £900 million.
Dirt Devil
This US manufacturer of vacuum cleaners was originally founded way back in 1905 but parent company Royal Appliances Manufacturing Company was bought by Techtronic Industries in 2002 for the equivalent of £85 million at today's exchange rate.
Miss Sixty
The popular Italian womenswear brand was snapped up by Guangzhou's Trendy International Group in 2012. The parent company controls a range of fashion brands, which include Energie, Murphy & Nye and Killah.
Harvey Nichols
Founded in 1831, Harvey Nichols is one of London's most upscale department stores, and has over the years expanded to 16 locations worldwide. The upscale chain was bought by Hong Kong company Dickson Concepts in 1991 for £77 million.
Aston Villa
The Championship football club was bought by Chinese businessman Dr Tony Xia for £76 million in June. Chinese firms also have majority stakes in rivals Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion and, most recently, Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Sandro
Chinese textiles leviathan Shandong Ruyi Technology Group is in the process of buying this French clothing brand, which offers high-end apparel at affordable prices. Its parent company SMCP also owns fashion brands Maje and Claudie Pierlot.
Tommee Tippee
One of the world's most trusted and recognisable baby brands and the UK's number one feeding bottle, Tommee Tippee and its parent company the Mayborn Group were acquired for £300 million by Chinese insurance company Ping An earlier this year.
VAX
Another cleaning appliance manufacturer, famous in the UK for its orange vacuums, that has been bought up by Techtronic. It was the company's first foreign acquisition back in 1999.
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