Asian Tech Press (Jan 12) -- Taiwanese silicon wafer manufacturer GlobalWafers is on the verge of clearing a major regulatory hurdle in its $5.3 billion acquisition of German silicon wafer maker Siltronic AG, according to sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported.

China's State Administration of Market Supervision and Administration has indicated that it is mainly satisfied with the anti-monopoly remedies proposed by the companies and may make a formal decision shortly, the sources said. The deal still needs approval from Germany's economy ministry, the sources said, and those discussions are still ongoing.

"We are still waiting for the final approval from China. But all questions have been answered," Doris Hsu, chairman of GlobalWafers, said in an interview. She added that the German government might be concerned that GlobalWafers is based in Taiwan rather than Europe.

GlobalWafers announced in December 2020 that it had publicly acquired all outstanding shares of Siltronic with its subsidiary GlobalWafers GmbH and completed its acquisition target by acquiring 70.27% of Siltronic's shares as scheduled during the statutory public offer extension period.

GlobalWafers has completed reviews by antitrust authorities in the U.S., Singapore, Germany, Austria, Korea, Taiwan, and CFIUS. They actively cooperate with the relevant authorities in the remaining regions in their review process.

GlobalWafers is the third-largest semiconductor wafer fab globally, and Siltronic is ranked fourth. The combination of the two will surpass Japan's SUMCO to become the second-largest silicon wafer fab in the world.