Chinese court freezes $300M in Nexperia assets amid Wingtech ownership fight

A Chinese court has frozen up to 2.14 billion yuan ($300 million) of assets held by Dutch chipmaker Nexperia B.V. and its equipment arm, the latest escalation in a protracted ownership battle between the Netherlands-based semiconductor manufacturer and its Chinese parent company, Wingtech Technology.

The Court Order

The Dongguan Intermediate People's Court ordered the freeze following an asset-preservation request filed by Wingtech and its subsidiary Yucheng Holding, according to a Wingtech filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The measures cover Nexperia's full stakes in three Chinese subsidiaries — Nexperia Semiconductor China, Nexperia Semiconductor Wuxi, and Nexperia Semiconductor Shanghai — as well as its 99% holding in Nexperia Semiconductor Technology Shanghai. The court also froze the entirety of Nexperia's equipment unit's stake in its Wuxi-based subsidiary.srnnews+1

The equity freezes took effect between August 20 and August 25 and will remain in force until August 2029, Reuters reported. The case has not yet gone to trial, and Nexperia did not immediately respond to requests for comment.srnnews

A Deepening Dispute

The court action gives Wingtech fresh leverage in its broader effort to regain control of Nexperia, though it does not change the company's management or resolve the underlying ownership fight. Wingtech and Yucheng filed a lawsuit in May against Nexperia, its holding and equipment companies, and three executives, seeking 8 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) in damages. That lawsuit, also filed in the Dongguan court, invokes China's Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law and argues that Dutch government measures restricting Wingtech's control constitute discriminatory foreign sanctions.aa+3

The dispute traces back to October 2025, when the Dutch government intervened to seize management control of Nexperia on national security grounds, suspending Wingtech founder Zhang Xuezheng as CEO and transferring most of the company's shares to an independent trustee. Beijing responded with export controls on products from Nexperia's Dongguan factory, which produces roughly 70% of the chipmaker's products. The standoff led to sharp production cuts at the plant and disrupted automotive chip supplies from Europe to Japan.cbtnews+2

Mounting Costs

The prolonged conflict has taken a heavy toll on Wingtech, which reported its 2025 net loss widened to 8.7 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) from 2.8 billion yuan a year earlier, as the Nexperia dispute weighed on performance. Earlier this year, Nexperia's Chinese subsidiary publicly accused the Dutch headquarters of disabling employee office accounts, disrupting production workflows — a claim the Netherlands-based headquarters denied.reuters+1