Zoomlion drops bid for US crane maker

China's Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology Co on May 27 abandoned its $3.4 billion bid for US crane maker Terex Corp after failing to agree to terms, clearing the way for a smaller deal between Terex and Finland's Konecranes.

"No agreement can be reached on the crucial terms," Zoomlion said in a statement, but declined to specify what the hurdles were.

"The company will continue to seek strategic opportunities for its long-term development, and further procure its strategic transformation and industrial upgrading," Zoomlion said in a regulatory filing in Hong Kong.

Zoomlion is China's second-biggest maker of construction equipment by revenue, trailing Sany Heavy Industry Co, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Terex, based in Westport, Connecticut, manufactures cranes and other heavy equipment for a number of industries, including construction, manufacturing, shipping, energy and mining. It posted revenue of $6.5 billion in 2015 and had about 20,400 employees.

Zoomlion and Konecranes had both bid for Terex to help them better cope with cooling Chinese and weak European demand in the cranes business.

Konecranes and Terex had agreed on an all-share merger last August, but Zoomlion emerged as a rival bidder in January and sweetened its unsolicited offer to $3.4 billion in March.

The Finnish company this month scrapped plans for a full merger and instead agreed to buy just part of Terex - its cranes business for ports and factories - for $1.2 billion.

The agreement gave Terex the right to terminate the deal for a fee by the end of the month if its talks with Zoomlion were to proceed.

After the Zoomlion announcement, Konecranes said that it would continue to work to complete its acquisition of Terex's material handling and port solutions business.

"The acquisition will significantly expand our international presence to better compete in the global markets," Panu Routila, the Konecranes president and chief executive, said in a statement.

(China Daily USA 05/30/2016 page2)