STYMIED by a series of rejections for its own offshore acquisition efforts and stung by growing complaints over how it treats foreign firms, Chinese officials have spent recent months proclaiming that, despite a few misunderstandings, their country is open for business.
The purchase of Indian firm Daksh by IBM in April 2004 was an example of a major U.S. player looking to acquire call-center expertise through an offshore acquisition.
However, in general, their commercial application is still incipient, since they generally require acquisition equipment that renders their surveys relatively expensive in relation to seismic methods, especially offshore, where seismic acquisition is relatively competitive.
The investigation implicated Mr. Kikukawa and two other executives in an elaborate cover-up scheme that involved offshore money, inflated acquisition payouts and a network of obscure brokers.
"Many potential acquirers hold significant cash offshore, and an acquisition of Shire could be attractive for a company interested in entering the rare genetic disease space," said analysts at asset manager William Blair.
Olympus, which makes medical endoscopes as well as cameras, admitted last month to hiding losses on investments in the 1990s with an elaborate scheme involving offshore money, inflated acquisition payouts and a network of obscure brokers.
On Thursday, the company said it would consider overseas acquisitions and offshore fund-raising at its next board meeting.
