Zongshen Plans to Acquire American Bluebird School Bus Company
30 March 2012
www.chinabuses.org：It is reported that Zongshen plans to acquire American Bluebird School Bus,but in how far these plans need to be taken serious is unclear, because Zongshen at this moment is mainly a motorcycle manufacturer. But it obviously wants to enter the growing market for school buses, claiming to be in talks with Bluebird to take over the company and start a schoolbus production in its Chongqing motorcycle plant. Zongshen wants to pay $ 250 million for the acquisition of Bluebird, it says. Chinese schoolbus sales may hit 70.000 units in 2012, with further growth foreseen for the coming years.
Blue Bird Corp, the maker of the iconic American yellow school bus, is clearly seeking to profit from this development, by entering the Chinese market. According to a statement released by Blue Bird recently, the school bus maker is searching for an opportunity to form a partnership with a Chinese manufacturer but an agreement is yet to be reached. However, the company has refuted claims that it is discussing a USD 250 million acquisition deal with China’s Zongshen Industrial Group Co.
Other reports in Chinese media have revealed that Blue Bird is in talks with Xiamen Fengtai International New Energy Automobile Co,. about local school bus production in Haicang, Xiamen. Both sides will together build an assembly plant with an annual capacity of 20,000 units. Blue Bird is the second largest school bus manufacturer in the USA with 30% market share.
Source : www.chinabuses.org：
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