US President Donald Trump has blocked US photonics firm HieFo Corp’s $3 million acquisition of assets in New Jersey-based aerospace and defense specialist Emcore, citing national security and China-related concerns, reports Reuters.
In an order released by the White House, Trump said HieFo was “controlled by a citizen of the People’s Republic of China” and that its 2024 acquisition of Emcore’s businesses led the president to believe that it may “take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States.”
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States identified a national security risk, opens new tab in its investigation of the deal, the Treasury Department said after Trump’s order. The statement did not specify the national security risk. Emcore, publicly traded at the time of the deal and later taken private, has said HieFo bought its chips business and indium-phosphide wafer-fabrication operations for $2.92 million.