German cabinet grants itself power to block takeover of Leifeld

Earlier, the company's main owner had told Reuters that China's Yantai had abandoned its pursuit of the company, anticipating that Berlin would wield a veto because of Liefeld's involvement in the nuclear power business.

The German cabinet has granted itself the power to block a takeover of machine toolmaker Leifeld by a Chinese investor if necessary, a government source told Reuters on Wednesday.

Earlier, the company's main owner had told Reuters that China's Yantai had abandoned its pursuit of the company, anticipating that Berlin would wield a veto because of Liefeld's involvement in the nuclear power business.

"The cabinet today decided to grant authorisation for a veto," the government source said. "This authorisation allows for vetoing the purchase of a domestic company by a foreign company for security reasons."

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