Iconic American Companies Owned by Chinese Investors

Headquarters: Salt Lake City
Bought By: Phagelux
Headquarters: Shanghai, China

The world of phage-based antibacterial products is a complex one, but thankfully OmniLytics know what they’re up against. The company was purchased by Phagelux in 2015. The company first caught the eye of the Shanghai-based powerhouse with its agricultural pathogens.

It was a partnership of two halves, with Phagelux opening up the Asian market to OmniLytics while OmniLytics could offer a marketing platform for Phagelux’s products in the United States. It’s not clear how much the purchase was, but given the nature of the business it would’ve likely cost Phagelux a impressively high amount.

Headquarters: New York, New York
Bought By: Fosun International Ltd.
Headquarters: Shanghai, China

Back in early 2015, China’s Fosun International Ltd. bought 20% of Ironshore Inc, but as the months began to tick by, they decided to go for the full ticket. By the end of the year, they purchased the rest of the company.

“Ironshore is pleased to jointly announce the completion of the merger transaction with Fosun, which will enable us to continue to build upon our international specialty platform and enhance our global brand,” said CEO Kevin H. Kelley. Two years later in 2017, Liberty Mutual bought Ironshore. As of 2020, it remains the sole owner.

Headquarters: Framingham, MA
Bought By: Oceanwide Holdings, IDG Capital
Headquarters: Beijing

Media, events, and research company International Data Corp has focused on the technology industry since 1964 when it was founded by Patrick Joseph McGovern. The company owns several brands including PCWorld, InfoWorld, and ComputerWorld.

In 2017 a deal was made when Beijing’s Oceanwide Holdings bought the company for an unknown amount. “We see great possibilities ahead as China Oceanwide will invest in IDG’s business to drive growth across all three of IDG’s valuable assets – IDC, IDG Communications, and the IDG Ventures portfolios,” said IDG Chairman Walter Boyd. “We believe China Oceanwide will provide the right financial, strategic, and cultural resources to take IDG to greater heights.”

Headquarters: Plantation, FL
Bought By: Alibaba
Headquarters: Hangzhou, China

It’s often difficult for tech companies to stand out in a landscape that’s saturated with products, but Magic Leap defied the odds with their head-mounted virtual reality display. The company caught the attention of the Alibaba Group in 2017 when they were searching for funding.

It’s not clear just how much money Alibaba poured into the company, but Magic Leap managed to raise $502 million in that round alone. Other named investors included Google. Alibaba’s Joe Tsai took a seat on the board of Magic Leap as a result of their investment.

Headquarters: City of Industry, CA
Bought By: Hangzhou Lianluo Interactive
Headquarters: China

Newegg has been serving the online computer hardware and electronics industry for almost two decades thanks to its founder, Fred Chang. The company did extremely well in its early years. Within four years of launching it had turned over 1 billion, growing year on year at an impressive rate. In 2012, it was right up there with Amazon.

In 2017, Hangzhou Lianluo Interactive bought the majority of the company in a deal. The specifics weren’t made available to the public, but given the valuation of the company, it’s likely Hangzhou paid a small price for the privilege.