Hon Hai Technology Group (鴻海科技集團) plans to acquire a 50 percent stake in a ZF Friedrichshafen AG car axle system assembly unit as the Taiwanese conglomerate seeks to accelerate its diversification into the top-tier automotive supply chain.
The strategic investment, which could cost up to 560 million euros (US$620 million), would deepen Ho Hai’s partnership with ZF Friedrichshafen, also known as ZF Group, which is the world’s third-largest tier-1 automotive supplier, the tech firm said yesterday.
Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) internationally, said the deal is expected to be closed in six to nine months.
Photo courtesy of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co
ZF Chassis Modules GmbH is the world’s biggest car axle maker, commanding a 26 percent share of the world’s car axle market, which was valued at 16 billion euros in 2021.
The company has an enterprise value of about 1 billion euros, and counts Mercedes-Benz Group, BMW AG and Stellantis NV as its top three customers, the companies said in a joint statement.
The partnership would leverage both firm’s capabilities and expand the range of product offerings in both the internal combustion engine and electric vehicle space, the statement said.
“We are also keen to explore more partnership opportunities with the ZF Group in the broader transportation and mobility space,” Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said in the statement.
ZF Chassis, serving global premium and volume car manufacturers, is represented at 25 locations worldwide. It has approximately 3,300 employees, of which 100 are in Germany.
The unit’s sales are expected to exceed 4 billion euros this year.
“With Foxconn, we have gained a strong strategic partner with whom we can open up new perspectives and opportunities for the ZF Chassis Modules GmbH,” ZF Group CEO Holger Klein said in the statement.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday obtained the government’s approval to inject an additional US$7.5 billion into its US subsidiary, the Department of Investment Review said in a statement. The department approved TSMC’s application of investing in TSMC Arizona Corp, which is engaged in the manufacturing, sales, testing and design of IC and other semiconductor devices, it said. The latest capital injection follows a US$5 billion investment for TSMC Arizona approved in June. The chipmaker has broken ground on two advanced fabs in Arizona with aggregated investments approved by the department totaling US$24 billion thus far. According to TSMC, the first Arizona
The lethal hack of Hezbollah’s Asian-branded pagers and walkie-talkies has sparked an intense search for the devices’ path, revealing a murky market for older technologies where buyers might have few assurances about what they are getting. While supply chains and distribution channels for higher-margin and newer products are tightly managed, that is not the case for older electronics from Asia where counterfeiting, surplus inventories and complex contract manufacturing deals can sometimes make it impossible to identify the source of a product, analysts and consultants say. The response from the companies at the center of the booby-trapped gadgets that killed 37
FRIENDLY TAKEOVER: While Qualcomm Inc’s proposal to buy some or all of Intel raises the prospect of other competitors, Broadcom Inc is staying on the sidelines Qualcomm Inc has approached Intel Corp to discuss a potential acquisition of the struggling chipmaker, people with knowledge of the matter said, raising the prospect of one of the biggest-ever merger and acquisition deals. California-based Qualcomm proposed a friendly takeover for Intel in recent days, said the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. The proposal is for all of the chipmaker, although Qualcomm has not ruled out buying some parts of Intel and selling off others. It is uncertain whether the initial approach would lead to an agreement and any deal is likely to come under close antitrust scrutiny
SECURITY CONCERNS: The proposed ban on Chinese autonomous vehicle software and hardware would go into effect with the 2027 and 2030 model years respectively The US Department of Commerce today is expected to propose prohibiting Chinese software and hardware in connected and autonomous vehicles on US roads due to national security concerns, two sources said. US President Joe Biden’s administration has raised concerns about the collection of data by Chinese companies on US drivers and infrastructure as well as the potential foreign manipulation of vehicles connected to the Internet and navigation systems. The proposed regulation would ban the import and sale of vehicles from China with key communications or automated driving system software or hardware, said the two sources, who declined to be identified because the