Against the backdrop of West Lake, where the reflections of water meet the glow of technology, Global New Material International Holdings Limited (“Global New Material International”) officially completed the acquisition of the global Surface Solutions business (Susonity) from Merck KGaA and inaugurated its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Tonglu, Hangzhou.
This €665 million cross-border acquisition is not only the largest cross-border transaction in China’s pearlescent materials industry, but also a critical step for Zhejiang-based companies in deeply integrating into the global industrial chain and reshaping their influence in the global value ecosystem.
The ceremony, themed “As One We Rise, Together We Shine”, began with an AI-powered animated countdown. Virtual imagery merged seamlessly with the physical stage, as laser beams and captivating lighting intertwined to form an exciting global network — a vivid embodiment of Global New Material’s corporate philosophy: “Driven with Technology, Growing with the World.”
In the highly symbolic “map lighting” segment, distinguished guests jointly commenced the ceremony. Through a digital map display, the guests lit up China, Germany, and multiple core business hubs across the Asia-Pacific region. The light beams, connecting the markets one by one, brought to life a strategic blueprint of real-time global connectivity, industrial-financial synergy, and a vision of global synergies powered by technology.
Zhejiang is one of China’s most vibrant and international provinces. As a Zhejiang-based company, Global New Material International aims to integrate German technology, China’s market, and Asia-Pacific manufacturing efficiency, achieving true global operations through this acquisition. This epitomizes Zhejiang companies’ pursuit of synergetic development.
In his speech, Su Ertian, Chairman and CEO of Global New Material International, emphasized that the acquisition is not only a milestone in the company’s global strategy but also a turning point for China’s materials industry – moving from “technology followers” to “value co-creators.”
“We are integrating not just technology, capacity, and channels, but building an innovation ecosystem that transcends cultures and geographies,” he said.
Johannes Baillou, Chairman of the Merck family board, spoke highly of this China-German business collaboration.
From “going out” to “going deep”, Zhejiang entrepreneurs are actively navigating global industrial shifts. As a hub of the Yangtze River Delta’s open economy, Zhejiang companies have moved beyond the early stage of simply exporting products, entering a new phase of “systemic globalization” driven by capital, technology, and branding. This acquisition stands out to be the epitome of Zhejiang firms leveraging cross-border transactions to acquire critical technologies and expand market networks. It signals that Chinese companies are no longer just providers of capital, but leaders in technology integration and strategic upgrading.
At the “Global Development and Cross-Border Integration Forum” held in the afternoon, Chairman Su and several experts discussed the overhaul of the global materials industry value chain. The forum focused on topics such as co-creation of technology, compliance management, and cultural integration – sending a clear message of confidence: Chinese companies are evolving from a participant in globalization to setting global standards.
Notably, this acquisition follows Global New Material International’s purchase of South Korea’s CQV in 2023, marking another step in its external growth strategy. The company is building a global supply chain network with Europe as the technology hub and Asia-Pacific as the efficiency center, creating the “China-Europe dual engine with Asia-Pacific synergy”.
As the lights dimmed and the forum concluded, the event – which blended technology, industry, and culture – came to an end. However, Global New Material International’s global integration journey has only just begun. From the Qiantang River to the Rhine, from “exporting products” to “building global ecosystems”, Zhejiang entrepreneurs are proving through pragmatic and profound international practices that the global development of Chinese companies is not a one-way expansion, but a mutually beneficial journey of multi-cultural exchange and multi-market advancement.
The event was attended by hundreds of business and financial industry leaders from China and abroad.
