The UK's largest microchip plant, Newport Wafer Fab, has been acquired by American semiconductor manufacturer Vishay for $177 million (£144 million) after Chinese-owned Nexperia was forced to sell its 86% stake in the company due to national security concerns.
The UK government expressed concerns over Nexperia's development of the Newport site, which it believed could undermine the UK's compound semiconductor capabilities.
Additionally, the plant's location in a semiconductor cluster was seen as a potential risk for granting access to technological expertise and know-how.
The site employs approximately 580 people, and while plans for 100 redundancies are still expected to proceed, Vishay aims to safeguard the existing workforce.