[stupidcar]

Supposedly because at the time of the acquisition, "Canyon Bridge was licensed and regulated by US law." but "Since then it has moved its headquarters to the Cayman Islands and as such is no longer a US-controlled entity." [1]. Although that sounds pretty flimsy. I suspect, given it happened in 2017, it was judged politically unwise to block a Chinese state investor when the UK was looking to increase global trade post-Brexit.

Eventually it seems the UK gov woke up and blocked a Chinese attempt to take over the board and move the company to China[2]. Now it seems there's a plan to IPO again in London or Nasdaq[3] so the Chinese owners can exit.

[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52275201 [2] https://www.ft.com/content/654a6d68-ef26-47b2-9da5-9029c570f... [3] https://www.ft.com/content/e0c48d30-866d-4efd-9d78-21e49d366...