International companies that are no longer American

Motorola

Original Headquarters: Schaumburg, Illinois
Purchased By: Lenovo
Country: China

Motorola might be best known for its tech, but it was founded in 1928 before mobile phones were even a dream. After steadily growing over the years, the business found success with its flip phones and other products, before it was sold to Google, who then sold it to Chinese company Lenovo in 2014. 

Google didn’t make anything from the sale, as they originally bought Motorola for $12.5 billion in 2012 before selling it for just $2.9 billion two years later. To this day, no one quite understands the move or why Google was so comfortable taking a $10 billion loss. 

Ironman

Original Headquarters: Tampa Bay, Florida
Purchased By: Dalian Wanda Group
Country: China

The Ironman competition started out as part of the Hawaii Triathlon Corporation before being purchased by Dr. James P. Gills in 1990. At the time the deal was worth $3 million. Since then it’s become a much bigger entity than it once was. In 2008, it was sold to Providence Equity Securities for a healthy $85 million, before the Dalian Wanda Group came onto the scene in 2015. 

The renowned Chinese corporation bought Ironman for $650 million, even taking on the debt left behind. Although the company was successful prior to the purchase, Wanda was especially happy with the 40% year after year’s net growth.