Court Approves Purchase Of Battery Maker By Chinese - Should The Fed Block The Sale?

China's largest auto parts maker got court approval on Tuesday for its controversial purchase of A123 Systems Inc, a bankrupt maker of electric car batteries, but the judge said he was troubled that a U.S. rival might be working to kill the deal.

A123, which was partly funded with U.S. government money, was sold at an auction on Saturday for $256.6 million to Wanxiang Group of China, which outbid Johnson Controls Inc of Milwaukee.

The auction result prompted outcry from U.S. politicians who objected to A123's taxpayer-financed lithium-ion technology ending up in the hands of an economic rival. Johnson Controls has said it remains interested in A123 if Wanxiang fails to get approval from the U.S. government, which is coming under pressure to block the deal.

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PUGPROUD - 12/12/2012 2:52:26 PM

+2 Boost

It pains me to say no but it is the right answer...let the freemarket find its own equillibrium and level. If you interfer you cause more bad unexpected issues and problems. Remember when the Japanese were buying everything american and were going to rule the world economicly...look at them now. It is a countries culture that leads to its economic undoing and the Chinese have plenty of underlying cultural issues that are slowly bubling to the service. Unfortunately we now have our own developing anti-free market, anti-free choice, welfare entitlement developing culture that may well be our undoing.

PUGPROUD - 12/12/2012 2:53:50 PM

+1 Boost

Getting old...forgive my poor typing and spelling in previous note !

HughJass - 12/13/2012 1:02:20 PM

+1 Boost

China doesn't participate in free markets, why do you think their National Champions always look like they're doing well? The Koreans do the same thing.

US does all the work so China can buy it up at a discount. You call that free market?

I say we just airmail a few nukes over and take them out of the competition. Or stop trading with them but my fellow retarded Americans will go crazy if Walmart runs out of shit to sell.

Holydude - 12/15/2012 7:45:35 AM

+1 Boost

China doesn't participate in free markets? Tell that to GM who views it as their largest and most profitable market.

I'm not even going to bother responding to that nuke statement other than that you really should get out of the trailer more often. Just so you understand, collaboration is always preferable to an antagonistic relationship. By buying A123, China will be managing an US office and paying salaries to US employees, perhaps even opening up further purchases, JVs, or partnerships with American firms in the future.

You can always tell a Republican by the various things that are stuck up their asses.