German regulators nix Taiwanese titan GlobalWafers' acquisition of Siltronic

A deal that would have brought a German silicon wafer manufacturer under Taiwanese control has been scuppered by German regulators – with help from China. The deal, announced in September 2020, would have seen Taiwan's GlobalWafers combine with Germany's Siltronic. Around $5 billion was to change hands – the sale price …

[Pascal Monett]

Hmm, China

A major deal with Taiwan scuppered.

Seems like politics are at play, here although, obviously, when you're talking real money, politics are always at play.

[big_D]

Months of re-org.

Part of the problem was probably the German federal elections in the Autumn. That led to a powerless government as the old regime under Merkel held the status quo, whilst the SDP was in discussions with the other parties to form a coalition in the new parliament. I don't know for a fact, but I could see the deal being put on hold, until the new political direction was in place and could take a look at it, which was only in the last month or so - so 3 months on pause.

[Anonymous Coward]

Yours and mine

At this point in time, the calculus for many of these deals seems to be "this company is ours but now it would be theirs."

It is not confined to Germany or to pre and post election periods. Instead it reflects a growing tribalism in politics.

[M.V. Lipvig]

Re: Yours and mine

Actually, COVID caused a lot of companies worldwide to unexpectedly experience the main failings of the "just in time" supply chain and the "buy from the cheapest labor market" strategies. When the low labor cost nations shut their doors, too many companies found themselves suddenly with no product to sell, and no alternative suppliers to turn to, and it caused many businesses to fail practically with no warning. This has opened a lot of eyes, and hopefully will change how business look at the world. Chasing the last penny of profit is no good if it means you have no control over whether you can get the raw materials you need. It's better to give up a little profit to diversify your supply chain, and ensure that you have a little stock put back.

[mercyground]

"We will analyze the non-decision of the German Government and consider its impact on our future investment strategy,"

or in other words. Fuck dealing with that shitshow again.

Sounds like germany just went to the bottom of the list for investment/research. Shame they wanted a fab there... oh well.

[JBowler]

a lot of over-analysis in the comments

It's called a poison pill. Divest from one country in exchanged for a large investment in your country.