The British government has blocked a proposed takeover of an electronic design company by a Hong Kong-based firm on national security grounds.
In an order issued on Aug. 17, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng ruled that the acquisition of the Bristol-based Pulsic Limited by Super Orange HK Holding Limited should not proceed.
Kwarteng said the decision is “necessary and proportionate to mitigate the risk to national security.”
Pulsic’s intellectual property and software could be used to “facilitate the building of cutting-edge integrated circuits that could be used in a civilian or military supply chain,” said the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)….