Chinese company buys Hummer

The new owner of GM's Hummer will be a Chinese company, identified as Chengdu-based Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company Ltd, according to GM. Tengzhong is a privately owned company which specialized in road equipment and maintenance machinery. The acquisition was arranged by Beijing officials. The price of the deal is not disclosed but analysts said it couldn't be over US$500 million. Under the contract, Tengzhong will continue to invest in Hummer's branding, while the US will still be the base of manufacturing H3 and H3T. The global marketing will be through GM's network. GM said the deal will help keep the 3000 related jobs in the US, including 153 domestic dealers. If the acquisition complete, Hummer will be the first famous American automobile brand owned by a Chinese company. In the UK, Chinese companies have already purchased MG and Rover brands. source:NYT/IHT