(Bloomberg) -- Chinese investor Creat Group Corp.'s planned takeover of German blood plasma supplier Biotest AG is facing increased scrutiny from the U.S. government, according to people familiar with the matter, potentially putting the deal at risk.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., or CFIUS, has raised issues about Creat's access to the personal data of blood plasma donors and receivers, said the people, who asked not to be identified because talks are private. A final decision could be made as early as this week, the people said. Creat and Biotest could still offer solutions to address concerns, one of the people said.
A spokesman for Creat said the process is ongoing and declined to comment further. Biotest couldn't be immediately reached for comment. CFIUS reviews are confidential, and the panel doesn't confirm or comment on its work.
Creat announced plans to acquire Dreieich, Germany-based Biotest for more than 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion) in March. The target's shareholders accepted the offer in June, adding that completion was subject to regulatory approvals. Creat is a Beijing-based investment group founded in 1992 that has health-care and pharmaceutical businesses, including in the the plasma industry.
Biotest created a U.S. subsidiary, Biotest Pharmaceuticals Corp., in Florida in 2007, according to its website. It has plasma centers around the U.S.
Several Chinese deals have fallen apart this year after encountering objections from CFIUS, an interagency panel that reviews foreign acquisitions of U.S. companies for national security risks. The panel is led by the Treasury Department and includes officials from the Defense, State and Justice departments among others.
In December, then U.S. President Barack Obama blocked a Chinese company from buying Germany's Aixtron SE, a supplier of semiconductor equipment, because it had a subsidiary in California.
--With assistance from David McLaughlin
To contact the reporters on this story: Manuel Baigorri in London at mbaigorri@bloomberg.net, Eyk Henning in Frankfurt at ehenning1@bloomberg.net, Aaron Kirchfeld in London at akirchfeld@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Elizabeth Fournier at efournier5@bloomberg.net, Michael Hytha
©2017 Bloomberg L.P.
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