China slows reviews of mergers involving US companies - WSJ (updated)

Tower Semiconductor

04/04/2023 16:34

(Adds details on China's latest move, background)
       April 4 (Reuters) - Chinese regulators have slowed down
their merger reviews of several proposed acquisitions by U.S.
companies, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, a move
seen as a response to Washington's curbs on China's tech
industry.
    The potential slowdown includes deals such as Intel Corp's
 INTC.O  $5.2 billion takeover of Tower Semiconductor Ltd
 TSEM.TA  and chipmaker MaxLinear Inc's  MXL.O  $3.8 billion
purchase of Silicon Motion Technology Corp  SIMOy.F .
    China's State Administration for Market Regulation has asked
the companies involved to make available in China products they
sell in other countries in a bid to counter U.S. export controls
on China, the report said, citing people close to the process. 
    The competition regulator, which has made this demand a
precondition to approving the deals, could not be immediately
reached for a comment.
    As U.S.-China ties fray, merger reviews have become an
additional tool for Beijing in its tit-for-tat fight with
Washington over access to advanced technology. 
    Approval is required from Chinese authorities if companies
involved in a deal have a sizable business presence in the
country. 
    If two companies in a deal have revenue of more than $117
million a year from China, the merger needs Beijing to sign off,
according to the WSJ report.
    Intel, Tower, MaxLinear and Silicon Motion did not 
immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.

 (Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun
Koyyur)
 ((yuvraj.malik@thomsonreuters.com;))