Nexperia’s Chinese owner Wingtech has lost a court battle to regain control of the Dutch chipmaker, prolonging a crisis that has threatened to bring some European car factories to a halt.
The Amsterdam appeal court instead upheld an earlier decision to suspend its Chinese chief executive, hand power to EU-based directors and investigate allegations of mismanagement.
The court “finds that there are valid reasons to doubt the sound policy and conduct of business at Nexperia and orders an investigation”, it said in a press release.
The Dutch government temporarily seized control of Nijmegen-based Nexperia in September, saying there was a threat to security of supply in Europe because of the actions of chief executive Zhang Xuezheng.
His shareholding was handed over to a trust, though he retained the economic benefits.
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The court’s Enterprise Chamber found “indications of negligent conduct involving a conflict of interest”, the press release said. “Furthermore, there are indications that Nexperia’s director, under threat of impending sanctions, changed the strategy without consulting the other board members; agreements with the Ministry of Economic Affairs were no longer followed, the powers of European officials were curtailed, and their resignations were announced,” the court said.
It will now appoint two investigators, who will work for about six months, the court said.
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