Taiwan's Yageo plans to keep Shibaura's AI technology in Japan
The comments from Yageo founder and Chairman Pierre Chen come as Tokyo seeks to strike a balance between shareholder returns while ensuring cutting-edge AI technology stays at home. Shibaura's high-precision thermistors are key for monitoring the internal temperature of electronic devices to prevent overheating. That's especially important in AI, where data centers with large clusters of high-performance servers churn through troves of data.
"It is not in Yageo's interest to see Shibaura's technology transfer to countries that Japan considers to be unfriendly,' Chen told reporters in Taipei on Saturday. "We will impose even stricter controls on the technology to make sure it doesn't get leaked.'
Yageo is facing off against Nintendo supplier Minebea Mitsumi in its bid for Shibaura and is offering ¥6,200 for each Shibaura share. Minebea last offered ¥5,500 a share. Yageo's tender offer period ends June 19, though Chen wouldn't say if the company would consider an extension.
Chen said Yageo officials will meet Shibaura management in Tokyo during the week of June 16 to discuss the offer. The Taiwanese company has had good communications with Japan's powerful Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, according to Chen.
A Shibaura official declined to comment. Calls to METI outside business hours went unanswered.
Yageo's bid for Shibaura has triggered a backlash in some Japanese business circles resistant to takeover bids from foreign companies. Tokyo officials are also split on such overtures. Regulators are trying to bolster corporate transparency and shareholder returns by encouraging companies to unwind cross shareholdings. But that — and a cheap yen — is also making it easier to initiate takeovers of Japanese companies.
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