Siltronic-GlobalWafers Deal Falls Through on Lack of German Government Approval

   By Joshua Kirby 
 

Siltronic AG said Tuesday a takeover offer from Taiwanese peer GlobalWafers Co. has expired after the German government failed to issue the relevant approvals in time.

A deadline of Jan. 31 to obtain foreign approvals for the takeover having passed, the offer has expired, though it won't be closed, the Munich-based chip maker said.

"A certificate of nonobjection has not been issued nor is deemed to have been issued by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. Therefore, the conditions for the completion of the tender offer have not been fulfilled," Siltronic said.

At the end of 2020, GlobalWafers made an all-share bid via a Germany-based subsidiary, GlobalWafers GmbH, for Siltronic at 125 euros ($140.43) a share, later increased to EUR140 a share. At the latter price, the bid valued Siltronic's equity at around EUR4.2 billion.

However, it had been looking increasingly unlikely the deal would close, with Siltronic shares falling last month after the company flagged the continuing lack of approvals from the German government.

According to the combination agreement, Siltronic will have to pay GlobalWafers a termination fee of EUR50 million as a result of the failure to obtain the approvals.

For its part, GlobalWafers said last week that if the deal were to fail, it would plan to make alternative investments, mostly outside Europe.

Write to Joshua Kirby at [e-mail]; @joshualeokirby

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 01, 2022 01:39 ET (06:39 GMT)

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