After the acquisition of Thomson, TCL Group suffered losses for two consecutive years in 2005 and 2006, wearing the hat of *ST, and finally turned losses into profits in 2007. Now it has encountered the liquidation "sequela" of TTE Europe, a joint venture with Thomson. Last night, TCL Group announced one day after the suspension of trading that the Commercial Court of Nantes, France made a first-instance judgment on the reorganization lawsuit of TTE Europe on March 10. TCL Group, TCL Multimedia and its four wholly-owned subsidiaries are required to compensate TTE Europe's legal liquidator for 2,365,438+million euros (about 211million yuan), and TCL Multimedia has accrued TTE's estimated litigation debt1million euros in the financial statement of 20 10.
Internationalization is the dream of every enterprise. TCL's acquisition of Thomson's "borrowing a boat to go to sea" was once widely praised by the industry. However, this acquisition has now made TCL bear a huge compensation debt. Although TCL said it refused to accept the preliminary examination, it will continue to appeal. However, this case has issued a warning to China enterprises that intend to "go global". Overseas mergers and acquisitions should be bold and cautious, and enterprises should learn to protect themselves with laws in different target markets.
The unreasonable behavior of the liquidator is likely to have a negative impact on the confidence of other companies to invest in France, fully exposing the defects of the investment environment in France. For internationalized China enterprises, in the process of trade globalization, they need to master the ability to legally protect themselves in different target markets, which can be continuously improved in practice. Wang Zhile, a member of the National Industrial Policy Advisory Committee, also said that enterprise internationalization is the only way for China enterprises to enhance their market competitiveness. Internationally renowned multinational companies will also frequently encounter different types of international lawsuits. TCL's response to this case will accumulate experience for other enterprises in China.