40 American Companies That Are Backed by Chinese Investors

Over the last several years, Chinese conglomerates looking to expand their footprint in the highly lucrative US market have been buying stakes in American companies left and right, spending unbelievable sums of money in the process. Whether you’re watching a movie, shopping online, or buying a new car, there’s a good chance that at least some of the money you spend will make its way to China eventually.

Here, we take a look at 40 American companies that are backed by Chinese investors.

In 1997, GM partnered with the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) to form SAIC-GM. Though GM isn’t owned by a Chinese company, its partnership with SAIC helps keep the money rolling in by giving it access to one of the world’s largest auto markets.

In 2017, Airbnb secured $100 million in funding from the Chinese sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation (CIC). The move cemented Airbnb’s position as one of the world’s most valuable tech companies and paved the way for further expansion into the Chinese market.

Tencent Holdings is the world’s largest video game vendor and is one of the world’s largest social media and investment companies. Tencent Holdings had a market capitalization of about $275 at the time of its investment, roughly six times that of Tesla.

In 2016, WeWork raised $430 million in funding from the Beijing-based investment holding company Legend Holdings and its subsidiary Hony Capital, valuing the company at $16 billion. At the time, WeWork had also been building up a local team in Shanghai in preparation for its entry into the Chinese market.

In 2017, Tencent bought a 12 percent stake in Snapchat for $2 billion. At the time, this was the fifth-largest investment in a US tech company by a Chinese firm. By 2018, Tencent’s stake in Snapchat had further increased to 17.5 percent.

In 2014, the Chinese tech company Baidu invested $600 million in Uber to help the company grow its business in China. Baidu also wanted to use Uber to grow its mobile payments service. Two years later, however, Uber would end up selling its China operations to its rival, Didi Chuxing.

4,500 Microsoft employees who had been affected by the deal were allowed to transfer to either HMD Global Oy or FIH Mobile. Microsoft, meanwhile, continued to develop Windows 10 Mobile and support Lumia phones as well as Windows Phone devices from various partners like Acer, Alcatel, and HP.

Didi Kuaidi’s investment in Lyft helped it to become stronger in its battle against Uber in the US. Didi Kuaidi, meanwhile, battled against Uber in China, though Didi Kuaidi’s Chinese operations easily dwarfed that of Uber’s. Uber eventually exited the Chinese market in 2016.

Two years later, Google sold Motorola Mobility to Chinese tech company Lenovo for $2.91 billion. In 2015, Lenovo’s smartphone division was merged into the Motorola Mobility unit, handing over the task of designing, developing, and manufacturing smartphone products.

In 2005, IBM sold its PC business to Lenovo for $1.25 billion. Lenovo also agreed to take on liabilities, raising the deal’s value to $1.75 billion. Lenovo, which at the time was already Asia’s largest computer manufacturer, would eventually grow to become the world’s #1 PC player.

In 2014, the Beijing-based Anbang Insurance Group bought the Waldorf Astoria for $1.95 billion, the highest-ever price paid for a hotel. Hilton Worldwide continues to manage the hotel. Shortly after the acquisition, Anbang announced its plans to convert the upper-floor rooms into residential units.

In 2019, Reddit raised $300 million in funding, half of which came from Tencent. This pushed the company’s valuation to $3 billion, up from $1.8 billion following a previous funding round in 2017 where it raised $200 million.

GE Appliances was owned by General Electric until 2016 when it was purchased by the Qingdao-based home appliances and consumer electronics company Haier Group Corporation for $5.6 billion. As part of the deal, Haier was awarded the right to use the GE name until 2056.

In 2009, it was reported that a Chinese investor group led by Jianhua “Kenny” Huang would be buying a 15 percent stake in the Cavs. Huang, who hails from Guangzhou, had previously helped the Cavs secure a sponsorship deal with Tsingtao Brewery. He also invests in several sports leagues and teams in China.

In 2016, the Chinese conglomerate HNA Group, Co., Ltd. purchased a 25 percent stake in Hilton Hotels & Resorts’ parent company Hilton Worldwide for $6.5 billion. That same year, HNA Group purchased all of Carlson Hotels, the owner of the Radisson chain of hotels, for an undisclosed sum.

In 2017, Zhonghong Group, a Beijing-based real estate development company, purchased a 21 percent stake in SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment for $429 million. Shortly afterward, Zhonghong Group announced its plans to develop and operate SeaWorld parks in China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

In 2020, Tencent announced that it had purchased a 1.6 percent stake in Warner Music Group. Though this may not seem like much, this deal is, in fact, worth $200 million. The American industrial group is still Warner Music Group’s largest shareholder, with an 86.3 percent stake in the company.

In 2018, Harbin Pharmaceutical Group, a Chinese state-owned pharmaceutical company, bought a 40 percent stake in GNC for $300 million. In 2020, the bankruptcy court in Delaware approved the sale of GNC to Harbin Pharmaceutical Group for $770 million after GNC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

In 2015, Segway Inc. was acquired by Ninebot Inc., a robotics startup based in Beijing, for an undisclosed amount. Interestingly, Segway Inc. had previously sought an import ban against Ninebot Inc. and accused it of infringing its patents in a complaint filed in 2014.

In 2015, Lionsgate signed a $1.5 billion, three-year co-financing and co-production deal with China’s Hunan TV. This arrangement would see Hunan TV co-invest in several Lionsgate movies like Age of Adaline and Now You See Me 2 and provide a quarter of those movies’ production budgets.

In 2012, AMC was acquired by Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group for $2.6 billion. Wanda Group was AMC’s largest shareholder until 2018, when Silver Lake Partners, a private equity firm, invested $600 million in the company. Wanda Group sold most of its stake in AMC in 2021.

In 2008, Riot Games partnered up with Tencent to launch League of Legends in China. Three years later, Tencent bought a 93 percent stake in Riot Games for $400 million. In 2015, Tencent bought the remaining seven percent stake for an undisclosed amount.

In 2012, the Beijing-based firm Concord Medical Services Holdings Ltd. announced that it had purchased a 20 percent stake in the MD Anderson Proton Therapy Center. This would allow Concord Medical Services to expand its knowledge base, as it had plans to build and operate proton centers in China.

Wanxiang Group, a multinational conglomerate headquartered in Hangzhou, purchased Fisker Automotive’s assets for $142.9 million in 2014 after Fisker Automotive declared bankruptcy. In 2016, Karma Automotive launched the Karma Revero, a plug-in hybrid vehicle based on the Fisker Karma.

In 2013, Smithfield Foods was acquired by WH Group – then known as Shuanghui Group – for $4.72 billion, one of the largest-ever Chinese acquisitions of an American company. WH Group is the largest meat producer in China, producing about 2.7 million tons of meat annually.

In 2012, the company’s founder, Tim Sweeney, noticed that the video game industry had begun shifting to a Games as a Service (GaaS) model. To gain more GaaS experience, Epic Games sought the help of Tencent, who then purchased a 48.4 percent outstanding stake in the company for $330 million.

In 2016, Taikang Life, a Beijing-based life insurance company, became Sotheby’s largest shareholder after it acquired a 13.5 percent stake in the company. Taikang Life’s founder and Chairman, Chen Dongsheng, is the grandson-in-law of Mao Zedong.

As part of its diversification push, Dalian-based conglomerate Wanda Group – the same conglomerate that purchased the movie theater chain AMC in 2012 – acquired Legendary Entertainment in 2016 for $3.5 billion, making it the largest Chinese acquisition of an American media company.

Evenflo was acquired by Goodbaby International Holdings Limited, a Shanghai-based company, in 2014. Goodbaby International was founded in 1989 by Song Zhenghuan and is involved in the manufacturing, designing, marketing, and sale of products such as strollers and child car seats.

In 2016, Magic Leap raised $793.5 million in funding from various investors, including the Chinese conglomerate Alibaba Group. The following year, the company raised another $502 million from Alibaba Group and other investors including Google, J.P Morgan, T. Rowe Price, and Fidelity Management and Research.

Pocket Gems is known for just two games: Episode and War Dragons. In 2015, Tencent acquired a 20 percent stake in the company for $60 million. In 2017, Tencent invested an additional $90 million, increasing Tencent’s equity to 38 percent.

Studio 8 began producing movies in 2014 after securing funding from Sony Pictures Entertainment and Fosun International, a Shanghai-based multinational conglomerate. Fosun International has invested in a wide variety of businesses over the years, including banks, pharmaceutical companies, clothing brands, and hospitals.

In 2013, Fab raised $150 million in funding from various investors, including Tencent. At the time, Fab was hailed as one of New York’s hottest startups. Unfortunately, Fab would burn through most of its funding in just a few years. In 2015, Fab was acquired by PCH International and was later relaunched as a wellness brand.

Brookstone eventually fell on hard times and declared bankruptcy in April of 2014. Two months later, Brookstone was acquired by Chinese investment firm Sailing Capital and conglomerate Sanpower for over $173 million. The company declared bankruptcy again in 2018 and closed most of its stores in the US.

In 2016, Chinese tech firm Hangzhou Liaison Interactive Information Technology Co. Ltd. (Liaison Interactive) bought a 55.7 percent stake in Newegg for $2.63 billion. In 2020, Newegg merged with Lianluo Smart Limited, a China-based company that designs, develops, and sells medical products and medical components.

At one point, LendingClub was the world’s largest peer-to-peer lending platform. By 2016, however, the company’s stock had plummeted, and the company faced numerous scandals. That same year, Chinese billionaire Chen Tianqiao’s Shanda Group bought an 11.7 percent stake in LendingClub. A month later, Shanda Group raised its stake in the company to 15.1 percent.

Zulily went public in 2013. At the time, the company was valued at $2.6 billion. In 2015, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba raised its stake in Zulily to 9.3 percent, or 11.5 million shares, for $56.2 million. Alibaba previously held just under seven million shares.

In 2013, China Petrochemical Corporation, or Sinopec, bought half of Chesapeake Energy Corporation’s oil and natural gas assets in northern Oklahoma’s Mississippi Lime region for $1.02 billion. At the time, the company had been looking to sell some of its properties across the US to repay the debt it had incurred over the years.

In 2016, three Chinese firms – Apex Technology Co. Ltd., PAG Asia Capital, and Legend Capital Management Co. Ltd. – came together to acquire Lexmark for $3.6 billion. At the time, Lexmark had been struggling financially as the shift to digital documents led to a decrease in demand for its products.

Nexteer Automotive was previously owned by General Motors before it was sold to China-based Pacific Century Motors (PCM) in 2010 for $450 million. The following year, the Chinese state-owned company AVIC Automotive Industry Holding Co. Ltd. bought a 51 percent stake in PCM.