Editing by Greg Gao

Chinese electronics company Wingtech Technology, through its overseas subsidiary Nexperia, obtained British approval to acquire UK's semiconductor fab NWF, Wingtech announced on August 15.

Nexperia (安世半导体) is a semiconductor IDM which Wingtech Technology(闻泰科技) acquired from NXP in 2018. Nexperia signed an agreement with Neptune 6 Limited and its shareholders to acquire NWF (Newport Wafer Fab) on July 5. The agreement was approved by Companies House, UK's registrar of companies, on August 12. Upon completion of the transaction, Wingtech will have an indirect 100% interest in NWF, according to its announcement.

Zhang Xuezheng, Chairman of Wingtech Technology and Chairman & CEO of Nexperia, said that Nexperia would increase investment in the newly regrouped company Nexperia Newport and maintain its important position in Welsh's semiconductor ecosystem. Nexperia Newport will significantly enhance Nexperia's production capabilities in automotive IGBT, MOSFET, analog, and compound semiconductor products.

Shanghai-headquartered Wingtech Technology started in 2006 as a mobile phone design house (IDH). Over the last 15 years, the company has grown dramatically. It was listed on Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2016 and acquired Nexperia from NXP in 2018. Its businesses extended to semiconductor IDM, optical modules, and telecommunication devices. This week it was announced that its device for EV will soon be available to Tier 1 manufacturers. 

NWF was founded in 1982 and named INMOS originally. It has a capacity of over 35,000 200 mm wafers per month, covering a wide range of semiconductor technologies ranging from MOSFETs and Trench IGBTs using wafer thinning methods to CMOS, analog, and compound semiconductors.

With Nexperia's investments in 200 mm wafer fabrication plants in Manchester, the UK, and Hamburg, Germany, NWF will help Nexperia achieve its ambitious growth goals and enrich its IGBTs, analog, and compound semiconductor product lines, Wingtech said in the announcement.

In addition, this acquisition is expected to significantly improve Nexperia's ability to supply automotive semiconductor products and expand its market share,

At the end of the 2020 fiscal year, NWF’s holding company Neptune 6 Limited had total assets of £44.7076 million and net assets of £-5.1773 million; it realized an operating income of £ 30.911 million and net profit of £-18.611 million.