By Toby Sterling and Bart H. Meijer
AMSTERDAM, Feb 11 (Reuters) – A Dutch court on Wednesday ordered an investigation into mismanagement at chipmaker Nexperia BV and upheld an October decision to suspend former CEO Zhang Xuezheng, the founder of Nexperia’s Chinese parent Wingtech, saying the company needs stability.
The decision leaves control of the company in the hands of the European team that has overseen it since a Dutch state intervention led to a conflict over the firm that has disrupted automotive industry supply lines around the world.
“The situation at Nexperia primarily calls for stability so that Nexperia can restore its internal relationships, its production chain, and its delivery to customers. This requires decisive management that is not hindered by the dispute between the different parts of the Nexperia organization” judges said at the Amsterdam Enterprise Chamber in a written decision ordering the investigation.
GEOPOLITICAL AND LEGAL FIGHTS
The U.S., Dutch and Chinese governments all imposed and later retracted measures affecting Nexperia in 2025. After the initial Dutch intervention on September 30, the Enterprise Court issued preliminary rulings suspending Zhang and transferring control of Wingtech’s shares to a Dutch lawyer. That transfer was upheld on Wednesday.
In October, relations broke down between the company’s European arm, which produces wafers, and its Chinese arm, which packages and distributes them. Shortages of the company’s chips, used in electrical systems, continue to impact carmakers.
The court said in a press release accompanying the decision that judges had found “indications of negligent conduct involving a conflict of interest,” related to Zhang’s ownership of a plant in Shanghai that did business with Nexperia, as well as indications that Zhang had changed the company’s strategy without consulting other members of the board, at a time the company was facing the threat of U.S. sanctions.
Lawyers for Wingtech had argued at a January 14 hearing that Zhang’s actions were part of a larger, logical strategy to reorientate Nexperia toward China, the world’s largest car market.
(Reporting by Toby Sterling, Editing by Louise Heavens and Elaine Hardcastle)
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