(Reuters) – Hong Kong-listed ASMPT on Monday said it has ended takeover talks with a potential suitor, curbing media speculation around the semiconductor and electronics equipment maker’s possible privatisation.
Last month, the company said it had received a takeover bid, but did not provide financial details or any information about the potential buyer.
Global investment firm KKR & Co was said to have been mulling a buyout bid for ASMPT, according to a Bloomberg News report on Oct. 2.
ASMPT’s shares rose more than 11% to a three-month high on the day Bloomberg News first reported the news, closing about 3% higher. However, they have since declined more than 20%.
The firm’s shares closed 4% lower at HK$79.9 on Monday, their lowest level since late September.
Netherlands-based semiconductor equipment maker ASM International NV, which owns around 25% stake in the company, has in the recent past been asked by activist investors to sell its holding.
Media reports had first emerged in March 2023 that Hong Kong-headquartered alternative investment firm PAG was among the companies that had expressed interest to take ASMPT private.
ASMPT is a major global provider of technology and equipment used in the manufacture of chips. Its market capitalisation as of Friday’s closing stands at HK$34.52 billion ($4.44 billion), according to LSEG data.
($1 = 7.7734 Hong Kong dollars)
(Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)
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