What in the North?
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Preliminary
A frightening commercial thriller took place in Europe, with China’s 14.7 billion-share-holding semiconductor giant, Anselm, under the “legitimate” control of the Dutch government in just a week, and three foreign executives in the company collectively overthrown.
This is no accident. When a European semiconductor company with huge investment by China was "legally" deprived of control overnight and was jointly "turned against water" by three foreign executives, this was no longer just a commercial dispute, but became a competition between countries. What is happening?
Why is it.
It may not be a simple business dispute, but rather a well-planned hunt when a well-developed European semiconductor giant operated by 100 percent Chinese holdings, whose controls are “legitimate” in just a week, and a clearly sophisticated mechanism is behind.
It is no accident that Anshi Semiconductor became a target. It has gradually evolved from an ordinary commercial acquisition into a key pawn on the geopolitical chessboard. Behind this is the amazing value jump it achieved after being taken over by Wentai Technology.
This company is simply a resurrected "profit cow", under the rule of Zhou Tai Technology, and the revenue of Ansh Semiconductor is not only A record high of €23.6 billion.Moreover, the margin rate has risen from a staggering 25 percent to an astonishing 42.4 percent, becoming the parent company’s most central source of profit.
Not only did it not become a burden, but it contributed to the Netherlands in five years. 130 million euros in corporate income taxIt also settled all debts and achieved the "zero debt" operation.
More importantly, its position in the industrial chain, as the predecessor of the Philips semiconductor standard product business, Anselm Semiconductor is the third seat in the global power separator field, and the number one shipment in the world in several segments such as automotive electronic ESD protection.
On its customer list, Bosch, AppleSuch industry giants are in line, holding 16,000 kinds of products in their hands, unshakable "key nodes".
For Europe, this is precisely the spotlight on their “strategic shortcomings,” which, despite the fact that there are companies like Infineon in Europe, are already at odds in the global semiconductor competition.
Nexperia, which was personally sold by the Netherlands to Chinese capital, happens to be one of the few high-quality assets they can sell in the crucial field of automotive chips. This pawn is too heavy for the "strategic autonomy" that the EU is obsessed with..
"Betrayed" executives
This transfer of control is not a single government act at all, but a seamless "perfect storm" composed of administrative orders, judicial quick rulings, and internal executives "rebellion".
It all began with an administrative raid. On September 30, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy issued a vague "National security" grounds, suddenly issued a ministerial order.
This order did not provide any specific evidence, but its effectiveness was terribly strong-it instantly froze the assets, intellectual property rights and personnel movement of Nexperia and its 30 entities around the world, which paved the way for all subsequent actions. It also completely locked up China's countermeasure space.
Immediately after the intervention of the judiciary was abnormally fast, less than 24 hours after the Minister's order was issued, the enterprise court of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal on October 1st did not even hold a trial, and directly issued an interim order, suspending Zhang Zhang, the chairman of TechCrunch. Director and CEO positions。
A week later, after a trial, the court formally confirmed the suspension and announced the appointment of an independent foreign director with “decisive voting rights.”
75% of the shares held by ZTE are also forcibly transferred to a third-party host, and the judicial procedure here plays a perfect role in providing a backup of the legitimacy of the administrative intent.
What allowed all this to be completed lightning-fast was the internal disintegration. Also within 24 hours after the government's action, Nexperia's Three foreign executivesA Dutch Chief Justice Officer, a German CFO and a German COO. Jointly filed an urgent request with the court.
Their appeal goes straight to the core, explicitly requiring an investigation of the company and a reconstruction of the company's control structure. This precise coordination of internal and external linkage is a key link for this hunt to quickly close the net.
Anastasia is not an example.
It may seem unbelievable to look at the incident alone, but if you look at the whole situation, you will find that. Not an isolated case at all, but a microcosm of Western countries 'systemic tightening policies against China's high-tech investment.
In fact, there has been a preview of the suppression of Anshi Semiconductor. Previously, Anshi Semiconductor's fab in the UK was forcibly sold by the British government for the same reason, and the one who took over the offer was an American company.
In Germany, it was also removed from its deserved subsidy qualification, which is highly consistent with the pace of the Netherlands closely following the U.S. restriction of photocopier exports, revealing the meaning of a synergistic operation.
Looking at the timing, the Dutch government's action happened to happen when all EU countries signed the treaty Declaration of the Semiconductor AllianceThe next day.
This allows the action of a Chinese-funded enterprise to be cleverly packed up as a justification for safeguarding European collective interests and achieving “strategic autonomy,” covering its actions with the legal mantle of the “Alliance.”
The chilling effect of this approach is real, with data showing that China's direct investment in Europe has fallen to its lowest point in a decade in 2022.
This investment is only 7.9 billion euros, and the volume of mergers and acquisitions in the high-tech field has shrunk significantly. The Anshi incident will undoubtedly further intensify this trend and make more China companies going global feel shudder.
conclusion
The encounter with Anselm Semiconductor marks a fundamental shift in the global business environment, and for those ambitious Chinese high-tech enterprises that are out at sea, a cruel reality stands before them: pure capital investment, compliance and commercial success are no longer enough to safeguard their own rights and interests.
Wentai Technology issued an announcement on the evening of October 12 to disclose the incident and said that it is cooperating with international law firms to take all legal actions to defend its rights. Although this legal struggle is difficult, it is still a necessary procedure.
Despite heavy external pressure, China's semiconductor exports have recently achieved significant growth in the first 10 months, increasing by 21.4%, and is expected to break the trillion dollar mark at the end of the year. The most solid "moat".