The planned acquisition of Lumileds by China’s San’an Optoelectronics has collapsed after US authorities flagged unresolved national security risks. The deal, valued at 239 million dollars, would have transferred full ownership of the Dutch firm to San’an and Malaysia’s semiconductor assembly specialist Inari Amertron. Regulatory approval was a key condition, but intervention by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) ultimately forced the parties to withdraw.
It’s the second time that CFIUS blocks the sale of the Dutch LED specialist to a Chinese buyer: In 2016, a deal between Lumileds and a consortium led by China’s Go Scale Capital consortium fell through. US private equity fund Apollo Management subsequently took a controlling stake in 2017, valuing the firm at 2 billion dollars. In 2022, Lumileds filed for bankruptcy to restructure its debt.
