China's LiuGong to acquire stake in poland's HSW

LiuGong, a Chinese manufacturer of heavy machinery is set to acquire a stake in Poland's HSW Stalowa Wola which specialises in bulldozers, backhoe loaders and pipelayers, a HSW spokesman has said. "We signed a preliminary agreement on January 18. Within two months, we will sign a conditional sale agreement and soon after we will finalise the transaction," HSW spokesman Bartosz Kopyto told AFP. The Polish state currently controls over 80 % of HSW, which employs about 2,000 employees, and the sale concerns the stake in private hands. HSW also has a military machinery and equipment production facility, which is not part of the LiuGong transaction. "Negotiations between the heads of both groups are complete. We expect the necessary green lights and the end of negotiations with unions on the social aspect," he added. LiuGong is intent on developing bulldozers, the HSW flagship product, according to Kopyto. Although the exact amount of the transaction is confidential, according to Poland's leading Rzeczpospolita daily, the value exceeds 250 million zlotys (63.5 million euros, $94 million).