Wingtech, the Chinese owner of Netherlands-based chipmaker Nexperia, has lodged an appeal with the Dutch Supreme Court against rulings that removed it from effective control of its subsidiary, Reuters reported.
The legal conflict centres on moves by the Dutch state and courts in late September and early October, amid concerns in The Hague that key technology and operations were being shifted to China.
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The Netherlands took control of Nexperia in September this year, citing concerns that its Chinese owner Wingtech planned to shift European production to China, posing risks to European economic security.
The following day, the Amsterdam Enterprise Court suspended Nexperia’s former chief executive Xuezheng Zhang and transferred the voting rights of the company’s shares to a court-appointed Dutch lawyer.
Those emergency measures were triggered by a complaint from European members of Nexperia’s management, who alleged mismanagement at the company.
Wingtech filed its appeal on 26 November, contesting the 1 October rulings.
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By GlobalDataThe company argued that the decisions, taken “in a single day”, were procedurally flawed because of the Dutch state’s role and because they were issued “ex parte”, without judges hearing arguments from Wingtech.
The case has gone directly to the Supreme Court because the Enterprise Court functions as an appellate body.
A decision from the high court is not anticipated before the end of the year.
In a separate track, Wingtech has also challenged the Dutch government’s intervention itself. That move was subsequently put on hold after discussions between Dutch and Chinese authorities.
While officials in US, China and The Netherlands have since lowered their public involvement, the stand-off over corporate control has yet to be resolved. The ongoing dispute continues to affect Nexperia’s output, and carmakers report that constrained supplies of its components are still putting vehicle production at risk.
Nexperia produces the bulk of its semiconductor wafers in Europe and historically sent most of them to China for packaging and distribution.
Its European headquarters has now halted shipments to China, citing unpaid bills, and says its Chinese business is operating autonomously.
Concurrently, Wingtech has also accused the Dutch arm of Nexperia of working to establish a supply chain that excludes China and of attempting to permanently remove the Chinese parent from control, according to Reuters.
In a statement, Nexperia’s Chinese division called on the Dutch operation to stop overseas growth plans, including projects in Malaysia.
“Abandon improper intentions to replace Chinese capacity,” Nexperia China said.
Those claims followed an open letter from Nexperia’s European side, which said repeated efforts to communicate with the Chinese unit had failed.
Wingtech has responded that the Dutch unit is sidestepping what it calls its “legitimate control”, making talks impossible.
“We need to find a way first to talk to one another constructively” a spokesperson for Nexperia’s European headquarters said on Friday.
Nexperia China has countered that the suggestion its management is unreachable is inaccurate, arguing that communication has been obstructed by the Dutch side through the deletion of email accounts belonging to Nexperia China staff and the removal of their access to IT systems.
