BERLIN (Reuters) -The German government plans to approve a Chinese takeover of the chip production of Dortmund-based company Elmos, business daily Handelsblatt reported on Thursday, citing government sources.
The economy ministry is examining the sale of Elmos’ chip factory to competitor Silex, a Swedish company that is a subsidiary of Chinese group Sai Microelectronics, Handelsblatt reported, adding approval is expected in the coming weeks.
The expected decision would mean the government would likely defy advice from the domestic intelligence agency, Handelsblatt added.
The economy ministry had no immediate comment when contacted by Reuters. A spokesperson for Elmos declined to comment.
Elmos said last December it had agreed to sell the wafer factory in Dortmund to Silex Microsystems AB for a net purchase price of around 85 million euros ($85.28 million).
($1 = 0.9967 euros)
(Reporting by Christian Kraemer and Matthias Inverardi Writing by Paul Carrel, editing by Rachel More)
