(Bloomberg) — The U.K. government is not intervening in the takeover of Britain’s biggest semiconductor plant by a Chinese-owned company, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Britain’s national security adviser Stephen Lovegrove was asked by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to review the sale of Welsh-based Newport Wafer Fab to Nexperia NV last August to see if there were “real security implications.”
Lovegrove has now concluded that the takeover can go ahead, the person said. However, a government spokesperson said in an emailed statement that “no decisions have been made” and ministers are considering the case.
The U.K. government has powers to intervene under the National Security and Investment Act if there are possible risks to national security.
Nexperia Hits Back at U.K. ‘Sneering’ at China Ties in Chip Deal
The move to allow Nexperia to acquire the U.K. chipmaker sparked alarm among lawmakers in Johnson’s ruling Conservative party, who argued it was a national security concern because the Netherlands-based firm is ultimately owned by China-headquartered Wingtech.
The government has not notified Nexperia of any decision, a spokeswoman for the company said by email. It already went ahead with the deal since announcing it in July 2021.
“Nexperia has brought its proprietary intellectual property into Newport Wafer Fab and continues to invest and expand” the plant, she said in a statement. “Immediately after the acquisition it has approved additional investments of $60 million at NWF to increase production capacity and make NWF profitable. Further significant investments are made to replace obsolescent equipment.”
(Updates with government spokesperson comment in third paragraph)
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