Bluestar Company ChemChina began as a small solvents factory called
Bluestar Company (), founded by
Ren Jianxin in 1984 with a 10,000-yuan loan. Ren created the ChemChina empire by taking control of over 100 troubled state-owned chemical factories across China, with the government retaining ownership. Meanwhile, he avoided laying off excess workers by shifting them to the company's restaurant chain.
State company In May 2004, after the
State Council of the People's Republic of China approved a merger of companies formerly under the Ministry of Chemical Industry as the China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina), Ren Jianxin became its CEO; in December 2014 he became the chairman of the board of directors. The chemical materials and speciality chemicals group made overseas acquisitions with two deals in 2006, both to acquire French companies. The first one was the
Adisseo Group, a global
animal nutrition feed firm that specialized in producing
methionine,
vitamins and biological enzymes. At the time of the purchase, Adisseo had worldwide market share of 30% in methionine. In March 2015, it was announced that
Pirelli shareholders had accepted a €7.1 billion bid from ChemChina for the world's fifth-largest tyre maker.
Syngenta acquisition In February 2016, ChemChina agreed to a $43 billion bid for Swiss seeds and pesticides group
Syngenta, The deal was awaiting approval by the
Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and European government panels, citing food safety and security concerns. In June 2016, both companies refiled the transaction for CFIUS approval, forcing them to restart the application process. In August 2016, the CFIUS cleared the deal, while the merger still awaited the regulatory review and concessions made towards the
European Commission, in particular with regard to divesting itself from agrochemical subsidiary
Adama Agricultural Solutions (which was planned to sell to ChemChina's associated company
Sanonda). The
Australian Competition & Consumer Commission cleared the deal in December 2016, but the buy-out was again delayed due to European antitrust investigations. In April 2017, the
European Commissioner for Competition and the U.S.
Federal Trade Commission both approved the merger, requiring ChemChina to divest from pesticide production of
paraquat,
abamectin and
chlorothalonil. The European Commission also addressed competition concerns with regard to
plant growth regulators and reiterated the expected commitments for divestment from ADAMA-related products. As of May 26, 2017, ChemChina's plan to purchase Syngenta for $44 billion was nearing completion, The deal was completed that same month with 82.2 percent of Syngenta shares and depository receipts offered. ChemChina merged with Sinochem Group to form Sinochem Holdings Corporation Ltd in 2021. This company also belongs to the Chinese state.
U.S. sanctions In August 2020, the
United States Department of Defense published the names of companies operating directly or indirectly in the United States with ties to the
People's Liberation Army. ChemChina was included on the list. In November 2020,
Donald Trump issued an
executive order prohibiting any American company or individual from owning shares in companies that the United States Department of Defense has listed as having links to the People's Liberation Army, which included ChemChina. In October 2022, the United States Department of Defense added ChemChina to a list of "Chinese military companies" operating in the U.S. ==Subsidiaries==