A China-backed bid for chipmaker Micron Technology Inc. would encounter close scrutiny by American national security officials worried about Chinese control of U.S. technology firms.
China's Tsinghua Unigroup Ltd. is preparing a bid for Idaho-based Micron that could be announced as early as Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the matter. Such an acquisition would give China the world's fifth-largest chipmaker by revenue, one able to compete with the likes of Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. with manufacturing capabilities in the U.S., Japan and Singapore.
Acquisitions of U.S. firms by Chinese-backed entities generally raise security concerns with Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., a panel led by the Treasury Department, which reviews foreign acquisitions of U.S. business to protect national security. Scrutiny over a bid for Micron — the largest U.S. manufacturer of memory chips — would undoubtedly be high though approval could be possible, said people familiar with CFIUS.