China :BMW is racing ahead of other global automakers in China.
The German company that it will pay €3.6 billion ($4.2 billion) to take control of its business in China. It’s the first international carmaker to announce this kind of deal since the Chinese government moved earlier this year to relax ownership restrictions.
Under the deal with its Chinese partner, Brilliance China Automotive Holdings, BMW (BAMXF) will increase its stake in their joint venture by 25% to 75%.
The deal is expected to close in 2022, the year when China will lift the ownership limit on car manufacturing operations.
The move will dramatically deepen BMW’s involvement in the world’s largest car market and help protect it against disruptions caused by trade conflicts and tariffs.
BMW sold 560,000 cars in China last year — more than the United States and Germany combined.
But that business has come under threat after Beijing placed new tariffs on American vehicles in July in retaliation for US taxes on Chinese exports worth tens of billions of dollars.
