US blocks another China semiconductor acquisition

Another sale of semiconductor assets to China has been blocked by the Committee for Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS).

Chip test equipment maker Xcerra said that CFIUS had blocked its proposed $580 million sale to China-backed investment fund Hubei Xinyan.

“While we are disappointed that we were not able to receive approval from CFIUS on this transaction, Xcerra and Xinyan are discussing alternatives to pursue opportunities in new and existing markets in China,” says Xcerra CEO Dave Tacelli.

“Xcerra is a strong and well-positioned company,” adds Tacelli, “the business environment remains robust for all of our semiconductor test products and bare-board flying probe test systems, and we will continue to innovate and unlock opportunities for the business in existing and new markets.”

“Our transaction with Xinyan was about enabling Xcerra to accelerate its growth in the China market as well as broadening and strengthening our customer relationships around the world. While we are disappointed that we were not able to receive approval from CFIUS on this transaction, Xcerra and Xinyan are discussing alternatives to pursue opportunities in new and existing markets in China.”

The US has legislation going through Congress which would make it more difficult for CFIUS to approve the sale of tech firms to China.

CFIUS has blocked a string of China-backed proposed acquisitions of US semiconductor companies, the most prominent of which were deals to buy Lattice and Micron.