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I think it will be a trend.
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A federal committee has approved the controversial sale of bankrupt U.S. advanced battery maker A123 Systems Inc. to Wanxiang America Corp., the Chicago-based subsidiary of China’s largest auto parts maker.
Wanxiang Group Corp. said in a release Tuesday that the Committee for Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) approved Wanxiang America’s $257 million deal to purchase Waltham, Mass.-based A123 Systems’ (Nasdaq: AONE) non-government assets.
[LEFT]I sometimes think America is just for sale to anyone that is willing to bribe the people that make these decisions. Isn't this two companies that received stimulus money and then filed for bankruptcy ?
Febuary 1, 2013
“Technology produced by A123 and funded by U.S. taxpayers should not simply be shipped off to China so that the military applications for these materials can be reproduced abroad,” Thune said.
Worries that the purchase of A123 Systems by a Chinese company with ties to the Communist Party potentially could expose the United States to a security threat have long plagued the controversial sale. Lawmakers voiced concern that technology developed with the help of a taxpayer-backed stimulus grant would soon be owned by an economic rival.
But earlier this week, Wanxiang cleared the last legal hurdle it needed to complete the transaction. On Tuesday, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States gave the company the go-ahead despite bipartisan opposition.
[LEFT]We don’t have any answers on whether U.S. national security concerns are protected,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said in a statement. “The only thing that’s clear is a foreign-owned company will benefit from the millions of dollars given to A123 through the president’s stimulus package. That’s troubling.”
Grassley and Thune have led the charge against Wanxiang. The fear is that the company will take American-made technology and use it against the country. Wanxiang says it won’t and has tried to contain fears by splitting the sale between the military and government operations. The company said the acquisition would provide A123 with the financial backing it needs to strengthen its “competitive” position in the global market.
[LEFT]The history of A123 is a complicated one and efforts to get the company back on track after an embarrassing bankruptcy has been tough. The federal government gave the company $249 million in December 2009 under President Obama’s highly touted economic stimulus program. But A123 couldn’t turn a profit and filed for bankruptcy in October. It went on the auction block and was sold to Wanxiang America Corp., the western arm of the Chinese company. Wanxiang beat out a combined offer to buy the company from Milwaukee-based Jonhson Controls and NEC Corp. of Japan.
China playing nice and obtaining technology legitimately? Praise be to this company's security efforts! Boo, to sale of those security methods, cutting edge ideas, and American investments.
I googled A123 and read about them in Wiki and it looks to me that they make batteries. I saw nothing that would be a threat to national security, maybe someone can explain what threat these Senators are talking about. A123 Systems - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
If it's not "Made in China" then it's "Owned by China".
The DoE has been giving them money since 2006 from what I read.
Why keep pouring good money after bad ?
The electric car just wasn't popular enough to keep them afloat.
Congress should have worried years ago about their precious 'National Security' and what the effects of globalization would have on the US. A little late to the party eh ?
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