By Kane Wu
HONG KONG (Reuters) -Taiwan’s Foxconn is among potential bidders for the Singaporean semiconductor assembly and testing business UTAC Holdings in a deal that could value the company at about $3 billion, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
UTAC’s owner, Beijing-based private equity firm Wise Road Capital, has hired Jefferies to run a sale process and is expecting to field non-binding bids by end of this month, the sources said.
Both the sources declined to be named as the information was confidential.
Foxconn and Jefferies declined to comment, while UTAC and Wise Road did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Global chip manufacturing has been beset by concerns over national security and technological competition in recent years, particularly between the United States and China.
Historically, semiconductors have relied on a very global manufacturing supply chain, but the U.S. has made moves to curb China’s access to advanced chips and high-end manufacturing tools, citing risks that these would benefit China’s military, which Beijing denies.
The sources said that UTAC is likely to attract interest from financial and strategic bidders that are not from the U.S. due to its China presence.
Foxconn, a major supplier to Apple and the world’s largest contract electronics maker, has expanded into making semiconductors in recent years as part of its long-term growth strategy, its website says.
Founded in 1997 in Singapore, UTAC provides assembly and test services for semiconductor chips with various end uses, including consumer, computing and security devices and medical applications.
Outside Singapore, it also has production facilities in Thailand, China and Indonesia and with a global sales network that covers the U.S., Europe and Asia, according to the company website.
Its customers are primarily “fabless” companies – meaning those that outsource fabrication – as well as integrated device manufacturers and wafer foundries.
UTAC does not disclose its financial performance but its estimated annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation are about $300 million, said the sources.
(Reporting by Kane Wu in Hong Kong; additional reporting by Yantoultra Ngui in Singapore, Brenda Goh in Shanghai and Wen-yee Lee in Taiwan; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Kevin Liffey)
