Mooney ... Sold to the Chinese?

[bnicolette]

http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20131013000051&cid=1206

 

 

Chinese conglomerate Meijing Group has obtained the permission of US authorities to buy US aviation company Mooney. The deal could be completed in November if it is approved by the US Department of State, according to Chinese aviation news website CAN Press.

Meijing Group announced on its official microblog on Oct. 2 that the deal has been approved by the US Committee on Foreign Investment and set the completion date to two months. The group will become the first private Chinese company to acquire a well-known US aircraft maker after the deal is completed.

Mooney Airplane Company is an US single-engine piston aircraft maker established in 1929. Although it has sold over 11,000 aircraft and built its brands and reputation, its business operations have been seriously affected by market fluctuation and poor management. After a slew of bankruptcies and restructuring, it halted production and laid off some of its workers in 2010.

The company remains a valuable acquisition as a debt-free resource full of experienced experts, professional technicians, a US permit to produce and verify aircraft and loyal customers.

The US authority approved the deal because the company's clients are not involved in the military, said Gu Jianquan, vice director of Henan province's Academy of Social Sciences. Along with national security, connections to these two fields are the main cause for the rejection of Chinese business acquisitions in the US.

The Meijing-Mooney deal still needs to be approved by the state department but it is expected to get a green light soon and without much fuss.

The middle price range bracket of airplanes manufactured by Mooney could entice the Chinese market, said Yang Qingxian, director of the aviation school at the Anyang Institute of Technology. Industrial insiders estimated that the deal will be worth around US$100 million.

[Parker_Woodruff]

$100 Million? I need to go start a GA Aircraft manufacturer that doesn't make any money :-p

[mooneygirl]

I found out tonight that the Ovation that went left for China last week was Jack Wiegand's.  For those of you who were at OSH you will remember that Jack is the young fellow who set the world record for round-the-world youngest pilot.  Jerry Chen invited Jack to go to China to the aviation summit or trade show in Xian.  Apparently the show runs from October 19-24th.  Jack will be telling of his trip around the world [but it didn't include China].

 

For whatever it is worth, I believe that we are talking about an investor not a buy out.

[fantom]

Really? Is the Mooney Worldwide website the site of the supposed new owners?

 

Yes, really....No, it isn't

[Jeff_S]

What's the point of an internet forum then?

 

Ah, my vindication has arrived in the form of a REAL communication from a REAL person at Mooney (see other thread). But I'm glad peole had plenty of fun with their xenophobic speculation!

[KSMooniac]

$100 Million? I need to go start a GA Aircraft manufacturer that doesn't make any money :-p

 

That is the rough order of magnitude to start from scratch and earn a Type Certificate these days for a new GA plane... then you have to setup a production system and get the Production Certificate approved, which can be more difficult than the TC.  I'm frankly surprised the number is anywhere close to $100 mil (if that is true) but it would still require more money and time to start fresh.

[sreid]

Yes, really....No, it isn't

 

Thanks goodness. Does anybody know the real story of that Mooney WorldWide site? It is really bizarre. To me it looks like "D" work on a high school business / internet class.