SEMICONDUCTORS
Microchip to buy Microsemi
Microchip Technology Inc on Thursday said it is buying semiconductor rival Microsemi Corp for US$8.3 billion. The boards of both firms approved the deal, worth more than US$10 billion, including Microsemi’s cash and assets. The transaction is subject to California-based Microsemi’s shareholder’s approval and is expected to close in the first half of this year. The combined firm could have more than US$5 billion in annual revenues, and a strong presence in chips and controllers for medical devices, “smart” home appliances, and military-grade and aerospace hardware.
CONGLOMERATES
HNA looking to sell resorts
HNA Group Co (海航集團) has put its US$1.4 billion stake in Park Hotels & Resorts Inc up for sale. The sale could involve some or all of HNA’s 53.7 million shares, with any disposal being subject to market conditions, a regulatory filing in the US said. HNA last year bought a quarter of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc and two spinoffs — Park Hotels and Hilton Grand Vacations Inc — from Blackstone Group LP for about US$6.5 billion. Those stakes are valued at more than US$9 billion today.
AUTOMAKERS
US sales fall 2% annually
US sales of new cars and trucks tailed off last month as automakers eased up on discounts. Sales fell 2 percent from last February to 1.3 million, Autodata Corp said. Among major automakers, only Toyota Motor Corp, Subaru and Volkswagen AG reported sales gains over last month. The three US auto giants reported sales declines: 6.9 percent year-on-year for General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co, and 1 percent for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s US subsidiary.
RETAIL
Kohl’s teams up with Aldi
US department store chain Kohl’s shoppers are to be able to pick up some groceries while shopping for clothing at select stores. The company on Thursday said it is teaming up with German no-frills grocery chain Aldi to lease space in five to 10 of its stores. The move comes as Kohl’s looks to scale back its footprint, while making its stores more productive. Kohl’s also reported a 6 percent increase in sales at established stores for the critical fourth quarter, the largest gain since 2001.
BRAZIL
Economy returns to growth
The government said the country’s economy last year grew for the first time in three years, aided by strong performance in the agricultural sector. The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics on Thursday said that GDP increased 1 percent last year, after two consecutive contractions of 3.5 percent in 2015 and 2016. The agency said that the 13 percent growth in the agricultural sector was a major driving force of the GDP increase. The corn crop increased 55.2 percent, while the soybean crop expanded 19.4 percent, it said.
MANUFACTURING
GKN could sell car parts unit
British engineering company GKN said it was in talks with US-based Dana Inc regarding the sale of its autoparts Driveline unit as part of a deal that would be effected mainly in equity. GKN already has a plan to demerge its main aerospace and automotive businesses in the middle of next year. The company yesterday said that the potential deal with Dana could provide greater value to shareholders than the demerger plan and it would therefore continue to explore it as an option.
KEEPING UP: The acquisition of a cleanroom in Taiwan would enable Micron to increase production in a market where demand continues to outpace supply, a Micron official said Micron Technology Inc has signed a letter of intent to buy a fabrication site in Taiwan from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion to expand its production of memory chips. Micron would take control of the P5 site in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼) and plans to ramp up DRAM production in phases after the transaction closes in the second quarter, the company said in a statement on Saturday. The acquisition includes an existing 12 inch fab cleanroom of 27,871m2 and would further position Micron to address growing global demand for memory solutions, the company said. Micron expects the transaction to
Vincent Wei led fellow Singaporean farmers around an empty Malaysian plot, laying out plans for a greenhouse and rows of leafy vegetables. What he pitched was not just space for crops, but a lifeline for growers struggling to make ends meet in a city-state with high prices and little vacant land. The future agriculture hub is part of a joint special economic zone launched last year by the two neighbors, expected to cost US$123 million and produce 10,000 tonnes of fresh produce annually. It is attracting Singaporean farmers with promises of cheaper land, labor and energy just over the border.
US actor Matthew McConaughey has filed recordings of his image and voice with US patent authorities to protect them from unauthorized usage by artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, a representative said earlier this week. Several video clips and audio recordings were registered by the commercial arm of the Just Keep Livin’ Foundation, a non-profit created by the Oscar-winning actor and his wife, Camila, according to the US Patent and Trademark Office database. Many artists are increasingly concerned about the uncontrolled use of their image via generative AI since the rollout of ChatGPT and other AI-powered tools. Several US states have adopted
A proposed billionaires’ tax in California has ignited a political uproar in Silicon Valley, with tech titans threatening to leave the state while California Governor Gavin Newsom of the Democratic Party maneuvers to defeat a levy that he fears would lead to an exodus of wealth. A technology mecca, California has more billionaires than any other US state — a few hundred, by some estimates. About half its personal income tax revenue, a financial backbone in the nearly US$350 billion budget, comes from the top 1 percent of earners. A large healthcare union is attempting to place a proposal before
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