Intel said on Wednesday that it was abandoning an attempt to purchase Israeli chipmaker Tower Semiconductor, after failing to secure regulatory approval in China for the $5.4bn deal.
The acquisition had yet to be signed off by the Chinese competition regulator, said two people briefed on the matter. Officials in Beijing have been scrutinising any transaction that could hand greater control over the semiconductor supply chain to Washington.
A deal on that scale needs the go-ahead from regulators around the world, including China. One source close to the regulators in China said it was “extremely difficult” to obtain Beijing’s approval for a US company to acquire a vital chip fabrication plant, or fab, as the Chinese chip industry faces tough export controls from Washington and its allies.