Negotiating Chinese Joint Venture

Abstract

In 1987, the site chosen to assemble the CarboMedics valve was situated in a steel and concrete block building at water’s edge in Hong Kong. It was a tall warehouse-type structure with an ornate stainless steel/marble lobby at the parking level and a large non-stop elevator to the top. The top floor was an open large area with glass windows all around overlooking Hong Kong Bay. A large conference room reserved for negotiations was in a nearby modern hotel. The meeting with the Chinese side consisted of both local dignitaries and other dignitaries from inland China, together with prominent medical doctors on one side of the conference table and the CarboMedics personnel together with a number of Chinese medical professionals on the other side of the table. Robert Akins, CarboMedics Operations VP, detailed the kit that contained all the parts for assembling the valve. The night before the meeting, Akins decided to withhold the price for a kit below which he would not go (479 $US) but held it secret. At the meeting, after some discussion, Akins asked the Chinese the maximum price they could pay per kit. It was a tense moment. The announced price was exactly 479 $US—on the nose. Our side was appalled. The meeting ended there and then, saying we’d have to think about it. We hurried back to Texas concerned about the rumored sale of Intermedics. As for getting back—it never happened.