Fastprint Circuit Tech(兴森科技), a Shenzhen-based maker of printed circuit boards, intends to spend $129 million to acquire a Chinese subsidiary of Japanese competitor Ibiden, reported Yicai Global on December 19.

Fastprint will finance the purchase by itself, the supplier of electronic device parts said in a statement on December 16. It also intends to introduce new investors to the Beijing-based target company while boosting its development efforts and increasing its investments to upgrade the production process and equipment.

Ogaki-headquartered Ibiden is one of the world’s largest PCBs manufacturers. It established a subsidiary in Beijing in 2000. The unit, which has more than 1,300 employees, makes motherboards for leading smartphone suppliers, according to its website.

The business, product portfolio, and main customers of the Beijing firm complement those of Fastprint and the transaction is conducive for the parent to enter the high-end smartphone market, the buyer said. It also should open cooperation space between Fastprint's existing business and leading clients in consumer electronics, Yicai Global said.

In the first half of this year, the Beijing unit made a net profit of RMB16.6 million ($2.4 million) and its unaudited revenue was RMB424 million ($60.7 million). In 2021, the firm recorded a net loss of RMB54.6 million($7.8 million) and RMB879 million($126 million) in audited operating income.

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Shenzhen, Fastprint was listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2010. The PCB company has three manufacturing campuses in Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong Province, Yixing, east China’s Jiangsu Province and the UK respectively.