President Trump Orders Divestment in $2.9 Million Chips Deal to Protect US Security Interests

According to Associated Press, President Donald Trump on Friday ordered the unraveling of a $2.9 million computer chips deal that he argued threatened U.S. security interests if the current owner, HieFo Corp., remained in control of the technology. The deal saw aerospace and defence specialist Emcore Corp. selling its computer chips and wafer fabrication operations to HieFo for $2.92 million, a price that included about $1 million of liabilities.

Trump’s order demands that HieFo divest the technology within 180 days, citing credible evidence that the current owner is a citizen of the People’s Republic of China. HieFo was founded by Genzao Zhang and Harry Moore, and plans for the acquired technology were to be overseen by the same team of employees in Alhambra, California. Zhang, formerly Emcore’s vice president of engineering, is now HieFo’s CEO and has pledged to pursue innovative solutions, including artificial intelligence. Emcore was publicly traded at the time of the deal but was taken private last year by Charlesbank Capital Partners.