The transaction, worth 1.2 billion euros, or about $1.3 billion, takes Midea a step closer to purchasing all of Kuka, which could be the biggest takeover of a Germany company by a Chinese buyer. Voith, a German mechanical engineering company, said on Sunday that it had reached agreement to sell its roughly one-quarter stake in Kuka, a German robotics company, to Midea of China. The deal has encountered political resistance in Germany, where politicians wanted Kuka to remain an independent German brand. Midea had built up a stake in Kuka before making a €4.6 billion takeover offer in June. Midea, based in Foshan, China, said it would support Kuka’s efforts to expand in China and would work with it to move into making service robots for consumers.

Source: New York Times July 04, 2016 08:53 UTC