Taiwan's GlobalWafers Fails to Get German Nod for Siltronic Deal

   By Yifan Wang 
 

GlobalWafers Co. failed to gain Germany's regulatory approval in time for its bid to take over German wafer manufacturer Siltronic AG, days after the Taiwan chip maker said the deal could still go through.

The Taiwanese company will pay a termination fee of 50 million euros ($56.2 million) to Siltronic, as previously agreed.

The company "has not been able to obtain the approval from the German government before the deal's deadline on Jan. 31," GlobalWafers said in a stock exchange filing Tuesday.

It said that it is "very sorry" about the outcome and that it will continue to work closely with European customers.

"GlobalWafers will analyze the non-decision of the German government on the acquisition and consider its impact on future investment strategy," the company said.

The development confirmed investor fears that the takeover couldn't receive a regulatory green light soon enough. In January, shares in Siltronic tumbled on news that Germany still hadn't cleared the acquisition, prompting GlobalWafers to issue a statement on Thursday to reassure investors that the deal still had a chance.

GlobalWafers in 2020 made an all-share offer for Siltronic at EUR125 a share and later raised the price to EUR140 a share.

GlobalWafers shares weren't trading Tuesday because of the Lunar New Year holiday in Taiwan.

Write to Yifan Wang at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 01, 2022 01:25 ET (06:25 GMT)

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