The UK government has opted to block the sale of Newport Wafer Fab to Chinese-owned Nexperia on national security grounds after months of wrangling that has left the biggest British chipmaker in limbo.Nexperia, which is owned by China’s Wingtech Technology, will have to divest 86 per cent of the company, leaving it with the 14 per cent stake it held before launching a takeover in 2021, according to a final order released by the government on Wednesday.

Kwasi Kwarteng, then the business secretary, announced in May that he was “calling in” the acquisition of Newport under the National Security and Investment Act, new powers under which the government is able to limit or block transactions involving strategic national assets.

Nexperia, which became Newport Wafer Fab’s second-biggest shareholder in 2019, launched a takeover of the chipmaker two years later, when the Welsh company was struggling to pay its debts and faced potential bankruptcy. The plant has since sold its wares exclusively to Nexperia, stoking fears of tech transfer from the UK to China.