China firm to buy majority of London Metal Exchange founder

China's biggest logistics firm, CMST Development Co., said it will acquire a majority stake in Henry Bath & Son, a more than 200-year-old firm which was one of the founders of the London Metal Exchange.
CMST Development will buy a 51 percent stake in warehouse operator Henry Bath from owners Mercuria Capital Partners for around USD 60 million, the Beijing-based firm said in a statement to the Shanghai stock exchange.
Henry Bath was founded in 1794, according to its website, and almost a century later went on to play a role in setting up the London Metal Exchange, now the world's reference market for base metals.

It is the latest acquisition of a symbolic European asset by a Chinese firm, following the sales earlier this year of Italian tyre and calendar maker Pirelli and French holiday group Club Med.
Liverpool-based Henry Bath now has a global platform in warehousing and logistics capabilities, with subsidiaries in the Netherlands, the US and Singapore, according to its website. Its business mainly involves nonferrous metals, coffee and cocoa.
CMST operates logistics centres in major cities in China including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and its business ranges from storage and warehousing to e-commerce and metal inspection, according to the company website.

The deal will help CMST "improve its international influence in the nonferrous metals warehouse industry", its statement late Monday said.

The deal is still subject to regulatory approval of Chinese authorities.
CMST stock dropped 7.53 percent in Shanghai trading today, after the deal was disclosed.