China's HNA says U.S lawsuit over failed deal 'baseless'

[December 13, 2017]  HONG KONG (Reuters) - China's HNA Group [HNAIRC.UL] said on Wednesday a U.S. lawsuit against the company and its Beijing-based unit Pactera Technology International Ltd over a failed acquisition was "baseless and without merit".

U.S. software engineering firm Ness Technologies has sued HNA, accusing it of failing to adequately answer questions about its ownership in a U.S. review of takeovers by foreign companies, thereby causing Pactera's $325 million deal to buy Ness's unit Jersey Holding Corp to fail. [nL3N1OB53O]

The lawsuit by Ness is the latest case involving HNA, which has come under U.S. and European scrutiny after a $50 billion worldwide acquisition spree that included stakes in Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE> and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc <HLT.N>.

"HNA Group believes this lawsuit is baseless and without merit, and we will vigorously defend against it," a spokeswoman at HNA Group said in an emailed statement to Reuters. It did not elaborate.

In the lawsuit filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Ness alleged HNA had caused it financial harm by not using what it called "best efforts" to get regulatory approval for the takeover.

(Reporting by Julie Zhu; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Mark Potter)

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