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UK blocks Chinese purchase of chipmaker

by on21 November 2022


Security grounds 

As we pretty much expected, the UK government has blocked a move by Chinese-owned firm Nexperia to buy the country's largest chipmaking plant.

Grant Shapps, minister for business, energy and industrial strategy, on Wednesday ordered Dutch chipmaker Nexperia to sell its majority stake in Newport Wafer Fab, the Welsh semiconductor firm it acquired for £63 million ($75 million).

Nexperia is based in the Netherlands but owned by Wingtech, a partially Chinese state-backed company listed in Shanghai. Nexperia completed its acquisition of Newport Wafer Fab in 2021, and the firm subsequently changed its name to Nexperia Newport Limited, or NN.

Shapps said that the order requires Nexperia BV to sell at least 86 per cent of NNL within a specified period and by following a specified process.

Nexperia had initially owned 14% of Newport Wafer Fab, but in July 2021 it upped its stake to 100 per cent.

Shapps said that while the UK welcomed foreign trade and investment that supports growth and jobs, "if there is a risk to national security it will act decisively."

Nexperia plans to appeal the decision.

 

Last modified on 21 November 2022
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