(Yicai Global) Dec. 19 -- Fastprint Circuit Tech, a Shenzhen-based maker of printed circuit boards, intends to spend JPY17.7 billion (USD129 million) to acquire a Chinese subsidiary of Japanese competitor Ibiden.

Fastprint will finance the purchase by itself, the supplier of electronic device parts said in a statement on Dec. 16 after the market was closed. It also intends to introduce new investors to the Beijing-based target company while boosting its development efforts and increasing its investments to upgrade the production process and equipment.

Ogaki-headquartered Ibiden is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of PCBs. It established a subsidiary in Beijing in 2000. The unit, which has more than 1,300 employees, makes motherboards for leading smartphone suppliers, according to its website. 

The business, product portfolio, and main customers of the Beijing firm complement those of Fastprint and the transaction is conducive for the parent to enter the high-end smartphone market, the buyer said. It also should open cooperation space between Fastprint's existing business and leading clients in consumer electronics.

In the first half of this year, the Beijing unit made a net profit of CNY16.6 million (USD2.4 million) and its unaudited revenue was CNY424 million (USD60.7 million). In 2021, the firm recorded a net loss of CNY54.6 million and CNY879 million in audited operating income.

Despite the plan, Fastprint's stock price [SHE:002436] dropped 5.3 percent to close at CNY10.92 (USD1.60), the largest decline in more than three months. Meanwhile, Shenzhen's SZSE Component Index slipped 1.5 percent.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi