Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (ASE, 日月光半導體) yesterday said in a statement that it has resubmitted an application to Chinese authorities for final approval on a NT$128.7 billion (US$4.28 billion) bid to acquire rival Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密).
The company’s statement came five days before a statutory review period expires on Sunday.
ASE, the world’s biggest chip packager and tester, filed an initial application with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce on Aug. 25 last year for a review of the proposed merger.
The ministry requires more time to review the merger application, the statement said, adding that “after discussions with the agency, the company has withdrawn the application previously filed with the agency and refiled it.”
ASE has received formal notification letters from the ministry consenting to the withdrawal and refiling of the application, it said.
“ASE and SPIL will continue with the merger in accordance with the joint share exchange agreement and relevant laws and regulations,” the statement said.
The Kaohsiung-based company early last month cleared a major hurdle for the merger bid after receiving approval from the US Federal Trade Commission.
ASE plans to form ASE Industrial Holding Co (日月光投資控股) by the end of this year after it secures approval for the merger from competition watchdogs in major markets. The new entity is to fully own ASE and SPIL, with the two firms remaining separate legal entities.
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MAJOR BENEFICIARY: The company benefits from TSMC’s advanced packaging scarcity, given robust demand for Nvidia AI chips, analysts said ASE Technology Holding Co (ASE, 日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip packaging and testing service provider, yesterday said it is raising its equipment capital expenditure budget by 10 percent this year to expand leading-edge and advanced packing and testing capacity amid strong artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing chip demand. This is on top of the 40 to 50 percent annual increase in its capital spending budget to more than the US$1.7 billion to announced in February. About half of the equipment capital expenditure would be spent on leading-edge and advanced packaging and testing technology, the company said. ASE is considered by analysts