Tsinghua Holdings Transfers Controlling Stake in Chipmaker Unigroup to SIHC
Tang Shihua
DATE:  Oct 27 2018
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
Tsinghua Holdings Transfers Controlling Stake in Chipmaker Unigroup to SIHC Tsinghua Holdings Transfers Controlling Stake in Chipmaker Unigroup to SIHC

(Yicai Global) Oct. 26 -- Tsinghua Holdings has transferred equity in Tsinghua Unigroup to Shenzhen Investment Holdings, making it the actual controller of China's largest state-owned chipmaker.

The two parties have agreed on a cooperation framework agreement to facilitate the transfer of a 36 percent stake, according to a statement from Unisplendour, a listed tech firm under Beijing-based Unigroup.

SIHC is a state-run investment company wholly owned by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the Shenzhen local government.

Tsinghua Holdings had previously planned to transfer 30 percent and 6 percent stakes in the company to High-Speed Rail New City State-owned Assets Operation and Management and Hainan Joint Asset Management, respectively. The firm concluded separate share transfer agreements for these deals in early September.

To transfer all 36 percent to SIHC, Tsinghua Holdings and the two local state-owned assets management companies have signed equity transfer termination agreements clearing the way of signing the new agreement.

SIHC will start due diligence on Tsinghua Unigroup following the agreement. The two parties will also make further negotiations and arrangements on the specific transaction plan and sign a separate transaction document in the future.

The agreement does not explain why such a big adjustment was made to the original share transfer plan around one month after the initial deals.

Tsinghua Unigroup, an affiliate of renowned Tsinghua University, is the third largest mobile phone chip company globally. Its subsidiaries include three A-share listed companies including Unisplendour, Guoxin Micro and Unigroup Xue and one Hong Kong-listed company Unisplendour Technology Holdings.

Before the transfer, Tsinghua Holdings held a 51% shares of Tsinghua Unigroup, while Jiankun Investment Group, a company half-owned by Unigroup President Zhao Weiguo.

Zhao, who has been chairman of Unigroup since 2013, is an influential man in China's chip industry. He was dubbed the "madman of mergers and acquisitions" in the industry due to frequent large-scale deals in recent years. Since 2013, companies under Tsinghua Unigroup have invested nearly CNY100 billion (USD14.3 billion) in over 16 enterprises.

Share prices of A-share listed companies under Tsinghua Unigroup climbed in early trading on Friday due to the new transfer plan. Unisplendour [SHE:000938], Guoxin Micro [SHE:002049] and Unigroup Xue [SHE:000526] closed up 2.9 percent, 2.12 percent and 10.01 percent, respectively.

Editor: William Clegg

Follow Yicai Global on
Keywords:   MSCI,Semiconductor,Concerted Action Agreement, Controlling Share Holder,SOE,Tsinghua University,Unis Group