Wingtech to gain control of Nexperia for 25.2b yuan

Hong Kong

CHINA'S Wingtech Technology Co Ltd, the world's largest smartphone contract manufacturer, is acquiring Dutch semiconductor firm Nexperia Holding by buying a majority stake from its Chinese owners for 25.2 billion yuan (S$5.1 billion).

Wingtech, a contract manufacturer for China's largest smartphone companies including Huawei Technologies and Xiaomi Corp, said in a stock exchange filing late on Wednesday it plans to pay 18.45 billion yuan to buy stakes from Nexperia owners.

It had announced in September that it will spend 6.7 billion yuan to acquire another owner of Nexperia.

Based in the Netherlands, Nexperia was formerly the products unit of NXP Semiconductors.

Wingtech will indirectly own 75.86 per cent of Nexperia as a result of the deals, it said. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval including from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

The acquisition will value Nexperia at 35.1 billion yuan, around one-and-a-half times the US$2.1 billion a consortium of Chinese buyers paid for it in 2016, the filing said.

Wingtech said in the filing it is the world's largest smartphone original design manufacturer (ODM) by volume, with more than 10 per cent of the global market share.

Nexperia is a component supplier in the semiconductor industry, with clients including Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics.

According to the filing, Wingtech aims to raise up to 4.63 billion yuan in a private placement to fund the deal. Its shares have been suspended since April.

Wingtech said it plans to get into automotive electronics after the deal is completed, currently Nexperia's largest business, as it seeks to benefit from business demand from more sectors in the 5G era.

Chinese regulators earlier this year thwarted Qualcomm Inc's US$44 billion deal to buy NXP amid escalating trade tensions between China and the United States. REUTERS