The government has unveiled a ¥903.9 billion ($6.3 billion) deal to buy out and privatize JSR, taking direct control of the world leader in chipmaking compounds at a time U.S.-Chinese tensions threaten to fragment the $550 billion global semiconductor industry.
The government-backed Japan Investment Corp. plans to offer shareholders ¥4,350 a share in a tender offer around December, the company said Monday in a statement. That works out to as much as ¥903.9 billion, JSR said.
The move could help Tokyo expand control over compounds essential for making advanced semiconductors. Founded in 1957, JSR is the world’s leading maker of photoresists and one of three Japanese companies, along with Shin-Etsu Chemical and Tokyo Ohka Kogyo, that control the global supply of fluorinated polyimide and hydrogen fluoride.