A U.S. chip manufacturer is asking President Trump to override a national security committee — which is looking to halt a proposed takeover of Lattice Semiconductors by a private equity firm that has ties to China.
The deal puts Trump in the middle of a hot-button issue: Chinese investment in the United States.
‘;
var storytext = document.getElementById(‘storytext’);
var heightToSkip = 0;
function resetValues()
{
totalHeight = 0;
targetChildElement = null;
}
// Check if story is in the blacklist of articles to remove smartassets
// [2017.07.27] Results of a one-off request from r.barbieri
if(BLACKLIST[location.pathname] === true) {
return
}
if(storytext == null)
{
console.log(“Error finding storytext element for SA embed”);
return;
}
for ( i = 0; i 0)
{
heightToSkip -= storytext.childNodes[i].clientHeight;
resetValues();
}
else if(heightToSkip minHeight && targetChildElement != null)
{
//console.log(“total height = ” + totalHeight);
//console.log(“childNode = ” + targetChildElement);
storytext.childNodes[targetChildElement].insertAdjacentHTML(‘afterend’, smartAssetDiv);
smartasset = document.getElementById(‘smartasset-article’);
smartasset.style.float = ‘left’; // allows module to have text float to right
smartasset.style.marginRight =’20px’;
smartasset.style.marginBottom =’25px’;
//console.log(storytext.childNodes[targetChildElement]);
//SMARTASSET.setDivIndex(targetChildElement);
SMARTASSET.setSmartAssetScript();
/* bail out since we’re done */
break;
}
}
/* div with id=”smartassetcontainer”. Sanity check to only embed once */
else if (storytext.childNodes[i].nodeName.toLowerCase() === ‘div’ && storytext.childNodes[i].id !== “undefined” && storytext.childNodes[i].id === “smartassetcontainer”) {
break;
}
/* div with id=”ie_column” */
else if (storytext.childNodes[i].nodeName.toLowerCase() === ‘div’ && storytext.childNodes[i].id !== “undefined” && storytext.childNodes[i].id === “ie_column”) {
resetValues();
}
/* embeds from twitter, facebook, youtube */
else if (storytext.childNodes[i].nodeName.toLowerCase() === ‘div’ && storytext.childNodes[i].classList.contains(’embed’)) {
resetValues();
}
/* cnn video player */
else if (storytext.childNodes[i].nodeName.toLowerCase() === ‘div’ && storytext.childNodes[i].classList.contains(‘cnnplayer’)) {
resetValues();
}
/* images */
else if (storytext.childNodes[i].nodeName.toLowerCase() === ‘img’)
{
resetValues();
}
/* images stored in figure tags */
else if (storytext.childNodes[i].nodeName.toLowerCase() === ‘figure’)
{
if(storytext.childNodes[i].clientWidth
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. is in charge of reviewing deals that could result in a foreign entity taking control of an American company. The committee includes members from the departments of Treasury, Defense, State, Commerce and Homeland Security. However, the president has final say.
According to Lattice (LBLTF), the committee has said it plans to advise that Trump deny the proposed merger between the Oregon-based company and Canyon Bridge Fund, a China-backed investment company.
Canyon Bridge says it’s headquartered in California, but its website also lists a Beijing address and states, “Initial funding for Canyon Bridge comes from limited partners in China.”
Related: Scaramucci says he will pay taxes on sale of investment company
Lattice is pressing forward despite the pushback, according to public documents filed Friday.
“Lattice remains of the view that the proposed transaction does not raise any national security concerns,” the company said, adding that it will continue talks with Trump and the council in an effort to resolve any “outstanding” concerns.
Lattice said it is “hopeful” that Trump will take its side. According to Lattice’s public filing, Trump has 15 days to make a decision on the matter.
Canyon Bridge said in a statement that it supports Lattice’s decision to push for the deal.
“We believe President Trump will recognize the benefits this investment will provide—to keep and grow jobs in the U.S., as well as expand Lattice’s product portfolio,” the statement reads.
The takeover was pegged as a $1.3 billion deal when it was first announced in November 2016.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Chinese investment into U.S. firms so far in 2017 includes 83 deals worth about $25 billion, according to research firm Rhodium Group.
CNNMoney (New York) First published September 2, 2017: 6:16 PM ET