UK government calls off full takeover of Newport Wafer Fab by Nexperia – IT Pro – News

The British government has ordered chip company Nexperia to all but cancel its acquisition of Newport Wafer Fab. As a result, Nexperia could still own 13% of the British chipmaker. The government refers to national security risks.

Nexperia, originally a Dutch company currently owned by Chinese Wingtech, is shocked by the decision of the British government. The company refers to two previous inquiries which allegedly demonstrated that there were insufficient risks to UK national security. According to Nexperia, even the few perplexities that existed would have been satisfied. The company therefore wants to appeal the decision.

According to Nexperia, the UK Secretary of State for Economic Affairs has invoked UK national security and investment legislation which has been in place since April 2022. This law should, among other things, protect UK tech companies from takeovers foreign countries when there is a risk to economic and national security.

Nextria nam Newport Wafer Fab in July 2021 from. Newport Wafer Fab is the UK’s largest chip maker. Nexperia was already the chipmaker’s second largest shareholder as of 2019. Newport Wafer Fab operates a single-chip factory in Wales, where the company produces 200mm wafers on 180nm processes and above. This fab has a capacity of 35,000 wafers per month, from trench gate MOSFETs and IGBTs, to CMOS and analog semiconductors.

Concerns had already been raised in the UK over the sale of a British chipmaker to a Chinese firm during the global chip shortage as the takeover was in the air. Tom Tugendhat, head of the UK government’s China Research Group and chairman of the select committee on foreign affairs, said he was “surprised” at the time that the takeover was not being considered under the National Security and Investment Act.