Wingtech seeks to restore Nexperia control as chip feud lingers

[BEIJING] Wingtech Technology has invited court-appointed custodians of Nexperia to discussions in a bid to regain control of the Dutch chipmaker and resolve an impasse that has threatened supplies of critical components for automakers.

The outreach from the Chinese company, which owns Nexperia, was made to Guido Dierick and Arnold Croiset van Uchelen, which were appointed to oversee the company after the Amsterdam Enterprise Chamber seized nearly all Nexperia shares.

“As the lawful controlling shareholder of Nexperia, Wingtech has made its position clear: the core prerequisite and fundamental basis for resolving Nexperia’s current governance impasse is the restoration of Wingtech’s lawful control and full shareholder rights,” Wingtech said on Wednesday (Dec 10) in a statement.

It is unclear when the discussions might take place.

Nexperia and the officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The invitation follows the unprecedented intervention earlier this year, which also involved the court suspending Wingtech founder Zhang Xuezheng as chief executive of Nexperia.

A Supreme Court appeal in the Netherlands remains pending, leaving the legal status of the shareholding unchanged. Wingtech is arguing the Enterprise Chamber overstepped its authority and relied too heavily on submissions from Nexperia’s management and the Dutch economic affairs ministry.

Alongside the court dispute, the Dutch government enacted powers to block or reverse decisions at Nexperia over concerns that Wingtech was preparing to transfer technology to China. The minsterial order was suspended last month in effort to defuse the standoff and restart exports from Nexperia’s facility in China.

Despite progress on the political level, an internal feud has continued between Nexperia’s Dutch headquarters and its Chinese operations, which accounted for about half of its chip production before the crisis.

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Amid disputes over financing and control, Nexperia has halted wafer supplies to the Guangdong facility. The standoff has created concerns of renewed shortages from automakers, which rely on the components.

Wingtech said the talks are aimed at restoring Nexperia’s normal governance structure, putting the company on a stable development path and ensuring the global semiconductor supply chain continues to function smoothly. BLOOMBERG