Chinese regulators have granted approval for Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) to buy Xilinx Inc, clearing the way for one of the largest deals to emerge from the global semiconductor industry.
The Chinese State Administration for Market Regulation has cleared the deal with certain conditions, the antitrust watchdog said in a statement.
It asked AMD not to discriminate against Chinese clients and to continue supplying Xilinx’s products to the country, after determining that the deal could exclude or limit competition.
The acquisition has won the blessing of regulators in the US and Europe, among other jurisdictions.
The US chipmaker, which competes with Intel Corp and Nvidia Corp in computer and graphics processors, unveiled the deal in 2020. AMD CEO Lisa Su’s (蘇姿丰) signature deal was intended at the time to help AMD enhance its efforts to challenge Intel for its lead in chips.
Buying Xilinx, a maker of programmable silicon, is expected to take AMD into areas such as automotive and communications networking, while bolstering its offerings in the lucrative market for cloud data center components.
The approval could help assuage fears that governments including China are growing resistant to mega-mergers in semiconductors as shortages of vital components persist.
Global chip takeovers had faced potential headwinds as governments treat semiconductor technologies and supply as a national security issue, particularly following a prolonged deficit of critical microelectronics that walloped the car industry and undermined post-COVID-19 economic recoveries.
Nvidia Corp is preparing to abandon its purchase of British chip company Arm Ltd from SoftBank Group Corp after drawing backlash from regulators, and making little to no progress in winning approval for the US$40 billion deal, it was reported this week. During the process, Nvidia’s bid faced a national security review in the UK.
Nations including the US, Japan and China are racing to build their own chip technologies and domestic production chains to shield their economies from another semiconductor crunch.
Growing tensions have also spurred Washington and Beijing to block some chip deals out of fear that their geopolitical rival could gain a technological edge. In 2018, Qualcomm Inc scrapped its US$44 billion bid for rival chipmaker NXP Semiconductors NV after Chinese regulators failed to give their blessing.
Even minor deals are being scrutinized. China’s Wise Road Capital terminated its US$1.4 billion offer for South Korean chipmaker Magnachip Semiconductor Corp last year after failing to win approval from the US Committee on Foreign Investment.
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