Trump admin blocks Chinese buyer from taking over US tech firm

[Right_in_Virginia]

Trump admin blocks Chinese buyer from taking over US tech firm
NY Post, Sep 13, 2017, Bob Fredericks

Citing national security concerns, President Trump on Wednesday blocked a Chinese-backed investor from buying Lattice Semiconductor Corp. — only the fourth time a president has stopped a foreign takeover in 27 years.

The would-be buyer, Canyon Bridge Capital Partners LLC, is a private-equity firm backed by a Chinese state-owned asset manager, Bloomberg reported.

“Consistent with the administration’s commitment to take all actions necessary to ensure the protection of US national security, the president issued an order prohibiting the acquisition,” Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in a statement.

The Trump administration has maintained the US’s tough stance against Chinese takeovers of American businesses even as it seeks the country’s help to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis.


More:  http://nypost.com/2017/09/13/trump-admin-blocks-chinese-buyer-from-taking-over-us-tech-firm/

[skeeter]

Huh. It is possible Lattice owned patents it would be better China did not have.

[ABX]

Huh. It is possible Lattice owned patents it would be better China did not have.

Here are their patents. Most seem to be pretty out dated.
http://www.latticesemi.com/Products/DesignSoftwareAndIP/IntellectualProperty.aspx

Plus, holding a patent has never stopped the Chinese.

This one is tricky because it was actually a US investment firm making the move, Canyon Bridge Capital Partners. The Senior managing partner, Benjamin Chow is of Chinese origin but is a US citizen.  The concern is that Canyon Bridge has Chinese investors.  So this really isn't blocking a Chinese firm from buying it, but blocking an American firm that has some Chinese investors.

On top of that, Trump is citing the Korean war era Defense Production Act as justification but that has primary use for securing industry critical in the national defense sector. Lattice does not seem to have any Defense contracts.  http://www.latticesemi.com/en/FileExplorer.aspx?media={9E1BB173-FDDE-440B-B3F5-7844660C29A5}&document_id=33236

It should always raise red flags when the federal government intervenes in the private business sector like this and we should always be critical of it.

[ABX]

BTW, the other times this was used like this that the article mentioned- Obama and Clinton.

At that, our side threw a fit when Obama did this. (blocked a Chinese company from buying a windfarm).

https://madeinusanews.com/tag/defense-production-act/
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2944363/posts

[skeeter]

Here are their patents. Most seem to be pretty out dated.
http://www.latticesemi.com/Products/DesignSoftwareAndIP/IntellectualProperty.aspx

Wow you must be one helluva fast reader. And you assessed the strategic value of all that IP to boot.

[ABX]

Wow you must be one helluva fast reader. And you assessed the strategic value of all that IP to boot.

No, I simply looked at the titles. Things like 10MB routers are a decade out of date.

[skeeter]

More info

http://investmentwatchblog.com/trump-protects-national-security-by-killing-a-deal-with-china-blocks-semiconductor-sale/

[RoosGirl]

Hubby is an electrical engineer in the digital design area and he says this sounds right.  Lattice makes some very high speed gate arrays, among other things, that they use a lot in DoD jobs.  DoD jobs require components be sourced from US firms.

[skeeter]

Hubby is an electrical engineer in the digital design area and he says this sounds right.  Lattice makes some very high speed gate arrays, among other things, that they use a lot in DoD jobs.  DoD jobs require components be sourced from US firms.

So its more a matter of the DoD just protecting its supply than an IP or patent issue?

[RoosGirl]

So its more a matter of the DoD just protecting its supply than an IP or patent issue?

That was his take.  I also think it talks about that in the article you linked.

[skeeter]

That was his take.  I also think it talks about that in the article you linked.

The way I read it the article seemed to focus more on the China obtaining the technology as the problem. Doesn;t matter though, I'm glad we're tightening down were national security is involved. I'm thinking back on the Loral days.