BEIJING: China’s biggest logistics firm, CMST Development Co, said it will acquire a majority stake in Henry Bath & Son, a 221-year-old firm which was one of the founders of the London Metal Exchange.
Beijing-based CMST Development will buy 51 percent in warehouse operator Henry Bath from owners Mercuria Capital Partners for around US$60 million, it said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Henry Bath was founded in 1794, according to its website, and almost a century later went on to play a role in setting up the London Metal Exchange, now the world’s reference market for base metals.
It is the latest acquisition of a symbolic European asset by a Chinese firm, following the sales earlier this year of Italian tire maker Pirelli and French holiday group Club Med.
Liverpool-based Henry Bath now has a global platform in warehousing and logistics capabilities, with subsidiaries in the Netherlands, the United States and Singapore, according to its website. Its business mainly involves nonferrous metals, coffee and cocoa.
CMST operates logistics centers in major cities in China including Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin, and its business ranges from storage and warehousing to e-commerce and metal inspection, according to the company’s website.
The deal will help CMST “improve its international influence in the nonferrous metals warehouse industry,” according to its statement.
The deal is subject to regulatory approval of Chinese authorities.
