China's Midea Group (000333) Makes Unsolicited Bid For Kuka (KU2), German Robot Maker

China's biggest manufacturer of home appliances, Midea Group, announced Wednesday an unsolicited takeover bid for German robot maker Kuka, offering 115 euros ( 130) for each share of the German company, valuing it at over 5 billion. The Chinese company, which has a market cap of about 21 billion based on its listing in the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, had, on Feb. 4, announced it raised its stake in Kuka to 10.2 percent and currently owns 13.5 percent of the German company's shares. The offer, made through Midea subsidiary MECCA International, of 115 euros is a 59.6 percent premium to Kuka's closing share price on Feb. 3, which was 72.05 euros per share. The company said in its statement it "is committed to maintaining Kuka's independence as a publicly listed company in Germany and has no intention of entering into a domination agreement regardless of the result of the takeover offer." Midea has previously announced its intent to increase its stake in Kuka, and the current bid is to keep in line with regulatory framework that makes it mandatory for an acquiring company to make an open offer for all issued shares of the company being acquired, if its stake exceeds 30 percent.