China has sought for years to exert influence over business deals beyond its home turf. Still, its decision to press Meta Platforms?to unwind a $2 billion acquisition of AI startup Manus marks a step unlike anything it¡¯s tried before.
The country¡¯s powerful state planner decreed Monday that the deal must be canceled ¡ª four months after it was sealed. In doing so, it¡¯s targeting a U.S. tech juggernaut with little to no business operations in China and a startup that, while originally from China, had legally moved to Singapore.
The two companies have spent months operating on the assumption that the deal was wrapped up. The startup¡¯s employees have already moved into Meta offices in Singapore, while its executives have joined the U.S. firm¡¯s high-profile AI team. Investors in Manus, including Tencent Holdings, ZhenFund and HongShan, have already received their payouts, according to people familiar with the matter.
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