AMSTERDAM, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Dutch chipmaker Nexperia's European managers face the company's Chinese owner Wingtech in an Amsterdam court on Wednesday in the latest round of a fight for control that has led to a shortage of chips used by carmakers.
The dispute at Nexperia escalated on September 30 when the Dutch government seized control of the company, citing fears it was transferring operations and intellectual property to China. The government later revoked the move to defuse a standoff with Beijing.
Nexperia makes silicon wafers - discs containing multiple chips - in Europe, which are then sent to its plant in China where they are cut and packaged.
On October 7, the Amsterdam Enterprise Court ordered the suspension of Wingtech founder Zhang Xuezheng as Nexperia's CEO and stripped Wingtech of control over Nexperia's shares citing "well-founded reasons to doubt" the company was being managed correctly.
At Wednesday's hearing, the first in public, judges will hear arguments on whether they should now order a full investigation into allegations of mismanagement made by senior European executives at Nexperia, or whether the earlier moves should be reversed. A decision will follow at a date to be set later.
WINGTECH TO CITE CUSTOMERS, OPPORTUNITIES IN CHINA
In siding with Nexperia's European executives previously, judges said that Zhang might have had a conflict of interest due to his ownership of a factory in Shanghai that sold wafers to Nexperia, and that he and Wingtech had not made governance changes needed to prevent Nexperia from being placed on a U.S. blacklist.
Wingtech Chair Ruby Yang said in a statement on Tuesday the company could only be saved if the measures were reversed. Wingtech is expected to argue in court that Zhang's plans for Nexperia made sense for a subsidiary of a Chinese company that has significant sales, customers, and growth opportunities in China, the world's largest car market.
Zhang is not expected to appear in person, but his lawyers will respond. The Dutch state is expected to support Nexperia.
The U.S., Dutch and Chinese governments all imposed and later retracted measures affecting Nexperia in 2025, citing their geopolitical and strategic interests.
Nexperia, which made $331 million in profit on $2.06 billion in sales in 2024, is now breaking into two smaller companies as its customers scramble for alternative chip suppliers.
The Dutch company stopped shipping wafers to China in October, citing nonpayment, and plans to spend $300 million to increase packaging capacity in Malaysia to supply non-Chinese customers.
The Nexperia packaging subsidiary in Dongguan has re-branded itself "Nexperia China" and plans to replace European production with Chinese alternatives, including from Zhang's WingSkySemi plant.
(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
