Republican Rubio slams U.S. approval of chip deal with China ties
Reuters
Published Aug 29, 2022 01:48PM ET
Updated Aug 30, 2022 01:16PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republican Senator Marco Rubio on Monday blasted U.S. regulatory approval of a bid by chip intellectual property company Alphawave to purchase U.S.-based OpenFive, over alleged national security risks posed by the buyer's ties to China's Wise Road Capital.
On Friday, the Toronto and London-based Alphawave, which licenses its technology to chipmakers, said it had received all regulatory clearances, including from the powerful U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
The $210 million deal is expected to close next month.
The deal has drawn fire from Republican China hawks in Congress, including the influential Rubio, who has advocated for CFIUS to review deals related to China that he saw as posing national security risks.
Earlier this year, he called on CFIUS to scrutinize the Alphawave deal, citing Chinese private equity firm Wise Road Capital's 10% stake in Alphawave and their 2021 agreement allowing Wise Road Capital to license Alphawave technology to increase its customer base in China.
Rubio on Monday accused President Joe Biden's administration of "yet again" demonstrating its "total unwillingness" to take seriously the threat of China aggressively buying and stealing U.S. intellectual property. "American competitiveness will suffer in the long term as a result," he warned.
The Treasury department, which heads CFIUS, OpenFive and Wise Road Capital did not respond to requests for comment. Alphawave declined to comment.
Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said China opposes attempts to politicize or interfere politically in mergers and acquisitions.
"Some U.S. politicians are ... accusing China of "stealing" intellectual property rights but are short on delivering solid evidence," Liu added.
CFIUS has taken a hard line with Wise Road Capital in the past. In December 2021, the private equity firm and U.S. chipmaker Magnachip Semiconductor Corp said they had terminated their $1.4 billion merger agreement after CFIUS said the deal posed "risks to national security."
OpenFive also leases chipmaking intellectual property to chipmakers.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.