Infineon is poised to spend billions of euros on the right acquisition target while scouting for acquisitions to spur growth, CEO Jochen Hanebeck said.
The German chip manufacturer is constantly “looking” for suitable companies, said Hanebeck Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ).
“I see it in the range up to a few billion (euro).”
The plans come at a time of soaring demand for chips used in everything from smartphones to cars, and supply chain bottlenecks lasting nearly two years, affecting global industries from cars to healthcare and telecommunications have plagued.
Infineon, which reported a 63 percent increase in segment profit to 3.4 billion euros ($5.36 billion) in the fiscal year ended September 30, said it was seeing growth particularly in the areas of electric mobility, autonomous driving, renewable Energies, data centers and more sees Internet of Things.
According to the newspaper, the CEO did not want to comment on individual takeover candidates.
He said the company could expand its portfolio in several areas, including power semiconductors, sensors, software and artificial intelligence.
It is quite conceivable that start-ups that are not sufficiently financed would want to join a corporation, said Hanebeck FAZ
Infineon bought US rivals Cypress Semiconductor for US$10 billion (AUD14.82 billion) and International Rectifier for US$3 billion in 2019 and 2014 to expand in next-generation automobiles and internet technologies.
In order to increase production capacity in Europe in a highly competitive market, Brussels in February launched the so-called chips law, which will allow 15 billion euros in additional public and private investment in the sector by 2030, on top of the public ones already planned Investments of 30 billion euros.
Infineon said last month it was planning a new €5 billion factory in the eastern German city of Dresden.
According to a media report, Taiwan’s TSMC is also in advanced talks about setting up its first European plant in Dresden.
According to another media report, however, Intel has moved away from its original goal of opening a chip factory in eastern Germany in the first half of 2023.
