In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on November 23, Cree stated that Infineon’s acquisition of Cree’s Wolfspeed subsidiary is proceeding through the regulatory review process. Cree and Infineon believe the transaction will close in February 2017.
Because Infineon is a non-U.S. company, GaN is a differentiator for many defense systems, Cree’s GaN technology was developed with major support from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and Wolfspeed/Cree is a “trusted foundry” for DoD programs, the transaction must be approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
Cree stated that the companies have submitted their CFIUS filing and expect the review period to begin “in the near term.” The CFIUS reeview is normally completed within 30 days, although it may be extended if further investigation is required. Such an extended review must be completed within 45 days, according to the CFIUS website.
This is Cree’s full submittal to the SEC:
As previously announced, Cree reached an agreement to sell the Wolfspeed business to Infineon Technologies AG in July 2016. The parties are continuing to work together to obtain the customarily required regulatory approvals in various jurisdictions, including foreign and domestic antitrust approvals, as well as CFIUS approval. The parties have submitted their CFIUS filing to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, and expect the statutory CFIUS review period to commence in the near term. Cree continues to believe that the likelihood of closing the transaction remains unchanged, and Cree and Infineon target closing the transaction in February 2017.
For additional background about the proposed acquisition, read