A JAPANESE state-backed investment vehicle is going ahead with its US$6 billion buyout of chipmaking materials linchpin JSR, after securing assurances of China’s approval for a deal that Tokyo sees as central to its semiconductor ambitions.
Japan Investment Corporation (JIC) plans to launch a tender offer as early as Mar 19, said sources familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named as the matter is private. JIC originally planned to begin the buyout around December, but the move had been pushed back, pending approval from China’s antitrust regulator. The deal offers shareholders 4,350 yen (S$39) per JSR share.
JIC will announce the details of the tender offer as soon as the schedule is decided, and will provide an update if no offer has been launched as at the end of March, a spokesperson said. A representative of JSR declined to comment.
The privatisation of JSR would give Japan more control over the world’s top supplier of photoresists used to make the most advanced semiconductors, helping it shore up its domestic chip manufacturing prowess. Japan has already approved billions of US dollars in subsidies to global chipmakers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and Micron Technology as well as suppliers such as Sumco and Iwatani.
Rising tensions between China and the US have made getting approval for transactions from regulators in Beijing and Washington increasingly difficult, especially those involving semiconductors. Last year, Intel abandoned its US$5.4 billion acquisition of Tower Semiconductor after failing to win China’s signoff in time.
Negotiations with China and other watchdogs are usually conducted in private and regulators can at times switch stances.
The Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun earlier said the tender was expected to commence in March. BLOOMBERG
