Nexperia Holding BV, the Dutch unit of Shanghai-listed Wingtech Technology Co. caught in the US-China semiconductor dispute, is looking to raise as much as $1 billion in a 5-year loan, according to people familiar with the deal.
(Bloomberg) — Nexperia Holding BV, the Dutch unit of Shanghai-listed Wingtech Technology Co. caught in the US-China semiconductor dispute, is looking to raise as much as $1 billion in a 5-year loan, according to people familiar with the deal.
The indicative pricing is mid-130 basis points over the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, or SOFR, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak publicly on the deal.
The chipmaker has mandated DBS Bank Ltd. as the sole bank to arrange for a group of lenders for the loan with a greenshoe option, they said. The bank is holding calls and roadshows for the loan syndication, and will start marketing it on Wednesday, they said.
“Nexperia has indeed initiated an exercise to arrange for a group of lenders for a loan aimed at repaying old debt and for general corporate purposes,” Hannes van Raemdonck, Nexperia’s senior director, said in an emailed statement. He declined to disclose further details about the loan.
The company is facing heat following the Dutch government’s alliance with the US earlier this year to further restrict exports of chip technology to China. Dutch authorities are reviewing Nexperia’s acquisition of another Netherlands-based chipmaker, Nowi, as the country has for the first time the power to stop foreign takeovers of domestic companies on national security grounds.
Last year, the UK, citing national security concerns, ordered Wingtech to undo its acquisition of Britain’s biggest microchip factory more than a year after the deal closed.
Back home, Wingtech is facing its own issues. The company said in July that its chairman and president was under investigation for not disclosing that he was the concert party of Wingtech’s controlling shareholder.
Nexperia had $506 million of debt outstanding as of December 2022, according to an annual sustainability report on its website. It announced a $1.5 billion financing in September 2019 to fund its growth, while it secured $800 million in 2018 to refinance existing debt and capital expenditure.
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