Securities regulator to investigate construction machinery maker facing patent lawsuit
Sau Ou Machinery, a construction machinery maker based in Taizhou, Zhejiang province, had its A-share initial public offering application cancelled, according to a statement posted on the China Securities Regulatory Commission website, citing the need for further investigation.
However, the statement did not specify whether the investigation was related to a lawsuit recently filed against the company over intellectual property infringement, information that was not mentioned in the listing prospectus.
According to a company lawyer quoted by Reuters, Sau Ou was recently sued for 150,000 yuan by a competitor.
A Shanghai Securities News report said the lawsuit was over intellectual property rights.
San Ou's customers include Bosch Corp, the Japanese subsidiary of Robert Bosch of Germany, which makes vehicle engine parts including fuel injection systems, and Hitachi Construction Machinery, Japan's second-largest maker of earth-moving equipment.
The application from Sau Ou joins a number of requests from other listing candidates that have been cancelled this year by the regulator.