Chinese billionaire set to acquire manufacturing group

Doncasters Group is set to be acquired by a Chinese billionaire who has been named as one of the richest people in the world.

The Staffordshire-based business,which has a major forging operation in Sheffield, has been at the centre of £1.5bn buyout rumours for some time.

It has now been revealed that the buyer of the business is telecoms business Beijing Xinwei, headed by billionaire Wang Jing, according to Sky News.

He was one of the world’s richest people of 2015 according to Forbes with an estimated worth of $3.3bn, until Chinese equity markets declined last year.

Wang Jing has major interests in HKND Group, which manages the Nicaraguan Canal.

Doncasters Group also made the news last week after security fears over a sale to the Chinese prompted the divestment of its munitions division, which makes missile fins and components for launch systems.

It was unclear whether the UK Government stepped in to prompt the disposal of the division, but there is a precedent for it stepping in – it prevented the sale of another forging giant, Sheffield Forgemasters, to Chinese buyers.

Doncasters employs 5,000 people across its operations.

 

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