Chip equipment maker ASMPT ends takeover talks with potential suitor
Adds background about ASMPT's buyout talks
By Rishav Chatterjee and Kane Wu
Nov 11 (Reuters) -Hong Kong-listed ASMPT 0522.HK,a global provider of technology and equipment used in the manufacture of chips, said on Monday it has ended takeover talks with a potential suitor, without disclosing the company's identity.
Last month, ASMPT said it had received a takeover bid, but did not provide any information about the potential buyer or financial details.
Global investment firm KKR & Co KKR.N was said to have been considering a buyout bid for ASMPT, according to a Bloomberg News report on Oct. 2.
ASMPT's shares rose more than 11% to a three-month high on the day Bloomberg News first reported the news, closing about 3% higher. However, they have since declined more than 20%.
Two people with knowledge of the talks told Reuters in late October that KKR had been in early talks with ASMPT and was exploring options for the company's China operations as part of a potential deal, as the U.S. firm was not comfortable owning the chip equipment maker in China due to regulatory and geopolitical risks.
U.S. investment in China has dwindled in recent years amid tightened regulatory scrutiny and China's economic slowdown.
The "reverse CFIUS" regulations which scrutinise U.S. outbound investments to "countries of concern" in specific sectors will become effective on Jan. 2, 2025, in the latest of a series of laws and regulations that U.S President Joe Biden's administration has passed this year to restrict U.S. investments in China.
The options KKR explored included finding a buyer for the China operations, said the sources, who declined to be named as the discussions were confidential.
KKR declined to comment. ASMPT did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Netherlands-based semiconductor equipment maker ASM International NV ASMI.AS, which owns around a25% stake in ASMPT, has been urged by activist investors to sell its holding.
Media reports had first emerged in March 2023 that Hong Kong-headquartered alternative investment firm PAG was among the companies that had expressed interest in taking ASMPT private.
ASMPT's market capitalisation as of Friday's closing stands at HK$34.52 billion ($4.44 billion), according to LSEG data.
($1 = 7.7734 Hong Kong dollars)
Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru, Kane Wu in Hong Kong; additional reporting by Milana Vinn in New York; Editing by Varun H K and Susan Fenton
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
