Chinese Chip Software Maker Behind Mystery Buyer UK Blocked
- A Shanghai firm is behind the failed attempt to buy Pulsic
- UK is clamping down on China’s presence in sensitive sectors
A two-year-old Shanghai-based developer of chip design software was behind an attempt to buy a British firm that regulators blocked with little explanation, the latest example of Britain’s increasing hostility toward Chinese investment.
Super Orange HK Holding Ltd. was blocked from buying Bristol-based chip design software provider Pulsic Ltd., the British Business Secretary announced in a brief statement Wednesday. But that firm is in reality controlled by little-known Shanghai UniVista Industrial Software Group, according to Hong Kong public filings and Chinese corporate data. The Shanghai firm is backed by the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund -- the powerful $50 billion state-backed vehicle known within the industry as the “Big Fund.”