Vishay Acquires Newport Wafer Fab for $177 million

Vishay Intertechnology, an American semiconductor company, has agreed to acquire the Newport Wafer Fab semiconductor manufacturing facility in South Wales, United Kingdom, from China-based Nexperia for a cash consideration of $177 million. The Newport Wafer Fab facility spans 28 acres and is a production-grade 200mm wafer fab primarily supplying the automotive industry. It is the largest semiconductor manufacturing plant in the UK.

Toni Versluijs, the UK Manager of Nexperia, stated that the company acquired the wafer fab in 2021 for £60 million and made significant investments in equipment and personnel.

Given that Newport Wafer Fab is the only strategic semiconductor asset in the UK, the acquisition by a Chinese company was met with strong opposition from politicians, industry executives, and certain foreign entities.

Subsequently, Newport Wafer Fab faced significant uncertainty, resulting in layoffs of 100 to 350 employees while Nexperia was eager to find a buyer.

Vishay and Nexperia have jointly announced this acquisition. Like Nexperia, Vishay has a solid customer base, with headquarters in Pennsylvania, USA and a market capitalization of $3.2 billion. Vishay promises to further develop Newport Wafer Fab into a successful model, with Joel Smejkal, president and CEO of the company stating that the acquisition will "contribute" to its goal of expanding capacity and ensure that the factory becomes a fully operational and profitable wafer fab.

Completion of this acquisition transaction is subject to review by the British government, confirmation of third-party closing conditions, and other processes. The deal is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024.