6.3 billion US dollars! Japan Announces Acquisition of Photoresist Production Company JSR

According to Bloomberg, the Japanese government has announced a $6.3 billion deal to acquire photoresist production company JSR Corp. in order to privatize it.

JSR stated in a statement that the Japanese government supported investment company (JIC) plans to make a takeover offer to shareholders around December at a price of 4350 yen (30.40 US dollars) per share. JSR stated that the total acquisition price is as high as 903.9 billion yen.

According to the report, this move may help Japan expand its control over the compounds necessary for manufacturing advanced semiconductors, namely photoresists, in order to gain greater influence.

On June 24th, foreign media reported that JIC, supported by the Japanese government, is in talks to acquire JSR, a photoresist production company used in semiconductor production, for 1 trillion yen. The Japanese investment company plans to propose a preliminary acquisition intention as early as this year. If progress goes smoothly, JSR may be delisted by the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2024.

It is reported that JSR, founded in 1957, is the world's leading photoresist manufacturer and one of the three Japanese companies that control the global supply of fluorinated polyimide and hydrogen fluoride. The other two are Shin Etsu Chemical Co. and Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co.

Kazuto Suzuki, a professor at the Graduate School of Public Policy of the University of Tokyo, said, "The key is to make full use of this advantageous position. Therefore, the government is continuing to make these strategic investments. If the government takes over, it will not face the risk of overseas acquisitions."

Japan plans to regain its long-standing leadership position in the semiconductor industry and is preparing to provide billions of dollars in subsidies to drive a doubling of domestic chip production by 2030.

SMBC Nikko analyst Go Miyamoto wrote in a report: "As a national policy issue, the semiconductor materials business has become increasingly important. If investors start pricing similar potential acquisitions, the valuation of other semiconductor materials stocks may rise