China’s Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology Co said yesterday it has terminated talks to buy US crane maker Terex Corp after failing to agree on terms.
The decision comes weeks after Terex agreed to sell its crane business for ports and factories to rival Finnish bidder Konecranes for €1.1bn  ($1.3bn) and is the latest setback to corporate China’s ambitions to acquire US assets.
“No agreement can be reached on the crucial terms,” Zoomlion said in a statement.
It was not clear if Zoomlion had been interested in Terex without the crane business for ports and factories.
Zoomlion, a construction machinery maker, and Konecranes had both bid for Terex to help them better cope with cooling Chinese and weak European demand.
A successful acquisition would have also put Zoomlion on a more equal footing with same-town rival Sany Heavy Industry Co which has a US
assembly plant.
“Without the positive effect due from Terex, Zoomlion will continue to develop slowly at its own pace,” said Jiao Yiding, an analyst at China Merchants Securities in Shenzhen.
In January, Terex said it had received an unsolicited offer from Zoomlion that challenged the US company’s all-share merger agreement with Konecranes made in August.
Zoomlion then sweetened its bid in March to $3.4bn.
Zoomlion’s Hong Kong-listed shares fell 1.6% after the announcement, lagging a 0.2% drop in the benchmark Hang Seng Index.
Last month, Zoomlion posted a record quarterly loss as Chinese heavy equipment makers battle an historic glut of unsold equipment. The collapse in talks comes after China’s Anbang Insurance Group said in April it had abandoned its $14bn bid for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, paving the way for Marriott International to buy the Sheraton and Westin hotels operator. In January, the United States blocked a bid by Chinese-based investment fund GO Scale Capital for Philips’ lighting-components business on security grounds.