National Security Officials recommend Trump blocks Infineon/Cypress Deal

National Security officials are recommending President Trump block Germany based Infineon from buying Cypress Semiconductor over concerns Chinese buyers might get the technology, pulling Europe deeper into the U.S. China trade war.

“We have always been less sure about the regulatory approvals than Infineon management, given the number of recent cross-border deals failing to clear the regulatory hurdle.”

Amit Harchandani, Citigroup Analyst

Silicon Valley-based Cypress Semiconductor specialises in defence focused chip manufacturing. Shares of the company fell almost 30% in the two days following the news. Regulators were concerned over issues regarding national security, with Huawei being among Infineon’s customers, representing 2.4% of sales.