OmniVision Sells to Chinese Investors for US$1.9 Billion

08 May 2015—Tablet and smartphone chip maker OmniVision Technologies (Santa Clara, Calif., USA) announced 30 April that the company has agreed to a buyout proposal from Chinese investors for approximately US$1.9 billion in cash. The deal would pay US$29.75 per share to stock holders, taking the company off the NASDAQ and ending its run as a public company. The company would be privately owned by Chinese equity firms Hua Capital Management, CITIC Capital Holdings and GoldStone Investment. OmniVision chief executive officer Shaw Hong is expected to continue in that capacity.

China-led attempts to buy U.S. technology companies face intense scrutiny. OmniVision generates nearly 80 percent of its revenue in China, and competes with Sony, Samsung and Himax Technologies. Proposed to close in the third or fourth fiscal quarter of fiscal year 2016, the deal is subject to antitrust review in the United States and China, and clearance by the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment, as required by U.S. law. Several U.S. law firms have announced investigations of possible breaches of fiduciary duty, claiming that analysts have estimated a higher per share stock value.

The Chinese investors previously proposed a bid of US$29 a share for a total of US$1.7 billion in August 2014. OmniVision stock has ranged from US$18.68 per share to US$28.91 per share in the past year.