[News] China Reports 31 Semiconductor M&A Deals in 2024, Led by Analog Chips and Materials

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China’s semiconductor industry is experiencing a “merger and acquisition (M&A) boom” in the latter half of the year. According to a report from Yicai Global, 31 semiconductor M&A deals were disclosed for the first time in 2024, with over half revealed after September 20. Of these, 14 deals—nearly half—were concentrated in semiconductor materials and analog chips.

Yicai Global reported that seven of the acquiring companies in these newly disclosed deals are from the analog chip sector. Key players include Convert, Halo Microelectronics, BPS, and Novosense.

The report highlighted that these analog chip acquirers specialize in areas such as power management, signal chains, and power ICs. For example, on October 22, BPS announced its acquisition of controlling shares in Convenient Power through a private placement. Both BPS and Convenient Power focus on power management chips. According to the acquisition plan, the two companies are highly synergistic in their business operations, allowing BPS to enhance its product lines for mobile and automotive applications while achieving complementary advantages in customer base and supply chain integration.

In addition, seven M&A deals were initiated by semiconductor materials companies in 2024. Among these, three involved upstream silicon wafer manufacturers—Li-on, TCL Zhonghuan, and Grinm Semiconductor Materials. Two other deals were led by providers of raw materials for semiconductor manufacturing equipment, namely Grandit and AESM.

Notable attention was drawn to two M&A deals involving JCET, a leading Chinese semiconductor packaging and testing firm. In March, JCET announced a RMB 4.5 billion acquisition of an 80% stake in SanDisk Semiconductor (Shanghai). Shortly after, JCET itself underwent a control change, with China Resources Group (CRC) acquiring control for RMB 11.7 billion.

In contrast, the digital circuit sector saw relatively few M&A activities, with only two deals reported. GigaDevice and Intellifusion were the acquiring parties in these transactions. Notably, GigaDevice, along with its co-investors, acquired a 70% stake in Xysemi for RMB 580 million.

(Photo credit: Novosense)