Power management solutions provider AcBel Polytech Inc (康舒科技) has fully acquired ABB Ltd’s power conversion division in a cash deal worth US$505 million, it said on Monday.
AcBel said the transaction would create a more resilient and higher margin product portfolio, given the power conversion division’s exposure to the telecom, data center and industrial segments.
The division counts AT&T Inc, Verizon Communications Inc, T-Mobile US Inc, Alphabet Inc’s Google and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co among its customers, it said.
Photo: Fang Wei-chieh, Taipei Times
All the prerequisites for the acquisition have been fully met including approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, AcBel said.
“As the world ushers in the 5G era, industries are accelerating their development to offer innovative applications, giving a boost to the power industry,” AcBel chairman Jerry Hsu (許介立) said in a statement.
“The deep combination with the advanced technology and system solutions from the power conversion unit, AcBel will be able to provide customers with optimal product portfolios amid the growing trend of power efficiency demand from consumers and enterprises,” Hsu said.
AcBel expects strong growth of its power supplies used in electric vehicles this year, a new business that made a small revenue contribution last year.
AcBel’s revenue rose 15.59 percent year-on-year to NT$25.32 billion (US$813.73 million) last year, with 90 percent coming from sales of power supplies. Net profit increased 5.7 percent to NT$636.36 million, or earnings per share of NT$1.23.
The company said that power supplies used in consumer electronics such as desktop and notebook computers accounted for 49 percent of its sales last year, while those for servers, data centers and storage devices contributed 41 percent.
AcBel shares rose 4.09 percent to close at NT$50.9 in Taipei trading yesterday, the highest since June 5, when shares closed at NT$51.2, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
HANDOVER POLICY: Approving the probe means that the new US administration of Donald Trump is likely to have the option to impose trade restrictions on China US President Joe Biden’s administration is set to initiate a trade investigation into Chinese semiconductors in the coming days as part of a push to reduce reliance on a technology that US officials believe poses national security risks. The probe could result in tariffs or other measures to restrict imports on older-model semiconductors and the products containing them, including medical devices, vehicles, smartphones and weaponry, people familiar with the matter said. The investigation examining so-called foundational chips could take months to conclude, meaning that any reaction to the findings would be left to the discretion of US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming team. Biden
INVESTMENT: Jun Seki, chief strategy officer for Hon Hai’s EV arm, and his team are currently in talks in France with Renault, Nissan’s 36 percent shareholder Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the iPhone maker known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) internationally, is in talks with Nissan Motor Co’s biggest shareholder Renault SA about its willingness to sell its shares in the Japanese automaker, the Central News Agency (CNA) said, citing people it did not identify. Nissan and fellow Japanese automaker, Honda Motor Co, are exploring a merger that would create a rival to Toyota Motor Corp in Japan and better position the combined company to face competitive challenges around the world, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. However, one potential spanner in the works is
HON HAI LURKS: The ‘Nikkei’ reported that Foxconn’s interest in Nissan accelerated the Honda-merger effort out of fears it might be taken over by the Taiwanese firm Nissan Motor Co has become the latest buyout target in Japan as it explores a merger with Honda Motor Co and faces an overture from Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) internationally. Shares in Nissan yesterday jumped 24 percent, the most on record, to hit the daily limit, after the two Japanese automakers acknowledged that talks are ongoing to better position themselves for competitive challenges during a time of upheaval in the global auto industry. Foxconn — a Taipei-based manufacturer of iPhones, which has been investing heavily in factories to build electric vehicles — has also
Call it an antidote to fast fashion: Japanese jeans hand-dyed with natural indigo and weaved on a clackety vintage loom, then sold at a premium to global denim connoisseurs. Unlike their mass-produced cousins, the tough garments crafted at the small Momotaro Jeans factory in southwest Japan are designed to be worn for decades, and come with a lifetime repair warranty. On site, Yoshiharu Okamoto gently dips cotton strings into a tub of deep blue liquid, which stains his hands and nails as he repeats the process. The cotton is imported from Zimbabwe, but the natural indigo they use is harvested in Japan —