China's state owned semi-conductor firm Tsinghua Unigroup has acquired a six percent minority stake in US-based company Lattice Semiconductor Corp. This is the first big deal by Tsinghua Unigroup in a US firm after its plan to acquire a majority stake in two leading tech firms US firms was thwarted by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) last year.

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Based in Portland city in Oregon State, Lattice specializes in manufacturing low-power programmable chips that can be customized to many high-tech systems such as telecommunications networks, military applications etc.  

Tsinghua Unigroup Chairman Zhao Weiguo said that he is hopeful that the latest deal will not draw any punitive actions from the US regulator, citing that the deal is purely financial in nature and Tsinghua has no interest in acquiring Lattice's technology.           

Zhao Weiguo said Tsinghua Unigroup may increase its stake or sell it depending on Lattice's financial performance.    

Last year, Tsinghua Unigroup's bid to become world's largest semiconductor manufacturer received serious a setback after its acquisition of two leading US tech firms Micron Technology and Western Digital came under the lens of the CFIUS.                          

CFIUS is an inter-agency committee under US Department of the Treasury that has authority to block any foreign transactions on the grounds of national security concerns.

If Tsinghua Unigroup's $23 billion acquisition of Micron Technology had taken place last year, then it would have been the largest Chinese overseas acquisition till date.                  

Tsinghua Unigroup's recent foreign acquisition spree has been largely spurred by the Chinese government's vision to make its semi conductor industry self sufficient and self sustainable.

TagsTsinghua Unigroup, china, Lattice Semiconductor