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State Memo Reveals Depth of New Hampshire’s Involvement in Chinese Bottling Deal
- Granite Eagle
- Oct 6
- 4 min read
CONCORD, NH — A memo from the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office shows state officials quietly facilitated a Chinese beverage giant’s $67 million purchase of a Nashua industrial site, offering new details about how deeply the state was involved before the public learned of the deal.
The eight-page memorandum, dated Oct. 3, 2025, and sent to Governor Kelly Ayotte, confirms that the Department of Business and Economic Affairs (BEA) helped Nongfu Spring, one of China’s largest bottled-drink producers, scout and vet the 80 Northwest Boulevard property months before the sale closed in February.
According to the memo, BEA’s veteran business-development manager began assisting the company’s U.S. brokers in March 2024, arranging site visits and connecting them with Nashua officials, utilities, and water provider Pennichuck Corporation. By June 2024, BEA staff were aware the prospective buyer was Nongfu Spring and that its billionaire owner, Zhong Shanshan, had ties to China’s Communist Party. Zhong personally toured the facility that month, joined by engineers and financial advisers.
The internal review found that while BEA did not recruit the company, the agency “actively helped to facilitate” the purchase through the end of 2024, even after learning of its Chinese ownership, and did not alert supervisors until late that year.
“Other than BEA, no other state agency or official was aware of the purchase… until after the transaction closed,” investigators wrote.
The $67 million sale represented a six-fold increase over the property’s 2014 purchase price of $11.7 million. Nongfu Spring told local partners it planned up to $200 million in facility upgrades and about 200–300 jobs producing bottled tea and other beverages, though those plans appear to have stalled.
The Attorney General’s Office confirmed federal agencies, including the FBI, are aware of the transaction and may review it, while U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander has asked the Treasury Department’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to retroactively examine the deal.
Despite Nongfu Spring’s assurances that its attorneys handled CFIUS filings, the state could not verify that any federal clearance was granted. The memo notes that under a December 2024 federal rule expanding CFIUS oversight of foreign real-estate transactions, the Nashua purchase “should have been” reviewed given its size and proximity to Joint Base Cape Cod, roughly 87 miles away.
BEA has since implemented new procedures requiring all investment inquiries to pass a Foreign Entity Screening Checklist and written certification that potential clients are not linked to “foreign countries of concern” such as China.
The department says staff must now report any red flags immediately to supervisors and law-enforcement partners.
Investigators also recommended broader training across state and municipal agencies to recognize “emerging avenues for malign influence by foreign actors.”
Pennichuck Corporation told investigators it was prepared to supply up to 2 million gallons of water per day for the proposed bottling operation but would require Nongfu Spring to pay for system upgrades. The company also acknowledged the need for tighter oversight of industrial customers that might “inadvertently or intentionally” contaminate the system.
City officials, meanwhile, said they viewed the project as routine foreign investment and praised BEA’s coordination. No public hearings were held because the only permit filed a driveway-widening request, which was later withdrawn.
While New Hampshire’s new foreign-ownership restriction law (RSA 477:22-b) now bars companies from nations such as China from buying land in the state, it did not take effect until July 1, 2025, months after Nongfu Spring’s purchase, and cannot apply retroactively.
That timing leaves the transaction legally intact but politically volatile, as lawmakers and residents question how a major Chinese-owned bottler acquired a large industrial property with limited oversight. The memo concludes that no laws were broken and no state employee violated existing policy but acknowledges that New Hampshire lacked adequate safeguards at the time.
“BEA should institute process improvements… to ensure any business which BEA may assist is not covered by a federal or state law,” investigators wrote.
For now, Nongfu Spring’s U.S. subsidiaries NF North America OP LLC, Streamfill Packers LLC, and NH North America Inc. remain registered with the Secretary of State but appear inactive. Their last known contact with the state came in July 2025, when company officials expressed frustration over “negative press” and the state’s silence on their investment.
Since the Granite Eagle broke this story last week, there has been a high level of dismay voiced amongst NH citizens. The fact that the State of NH helped facilitate this transaction, should be of grave concern to everyone. We suspect there is a lot more to learn about how this happened and who was involved. We will continue to dig and report our findings.
The Granite Eagle notified the Union Leader and WMUR about our discovery that the State of NH helped facilitate the transaction and asked them both if they planned on reporting it. It should come as no surprise that neither the Union Leader or WMUR has published anything about this disturbing discovery. NH media outlets are biased and holding back critical information from NH citizens.
It should also be noted that the Granite Eagle reached out to Gov. Kelly Ayotte's office and requested a statement on our discovery. As of this morning, Gov. Ayotte's office has not responded to our request.
Will we ever learn? How did this get by with no red flags???? (pun intended)
Provide the Chicoms with a permanent presence among our defense contractors. SMH...