The Trump Administration on Friday demanded that Beijing Shiji Information Technology, whose international arm is known as Shiji Group, unwind its acquisition of StayNTouch, a maker of hotel operational software.
President Donald Trump said the acquisition of the U.S.-based startup might “threaten to impair the national security of the United States.” The order didn’t explain details of the threat.
A spokesperson for Shiji Group gave us this statement Friday afternoon:
“Beijing Shiji Information Technology is disappointed by today’s Executive Order. We believe President Trump’s decision was incorrect. Shiji is not a threat to U.S. security in any way. The U.S. government did not adequately explain the basis of its decision to us. In fact, Shiji does not access the guest data of StayNTouch Inc.’s customers.”
“We offered a range of significant proposals to mitigate any concerns the U.S. Government might have, including further restricting access to guest data and appointing an independent monitor to ensure these protections,” the spokesperson said. “Unfortunately, those offers were rebuffed.”
Shiji Group acquired StayNTouch in 2018. As Skift first reported, Shiji paid $33 million to buy out a remaining 77.4 percent stake in StayNTouch. The company had paid about $2 million for its earlier stake.
The Trump Administration order comes after a blow last week when Oracle Hospitality, the world’s largest provider of hotel property management systems, decided not to renew a longstanding agreement where Beijing Shiji Information Technology resold Oracle’s software to hoteliers within China.
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