Originally posted by Kunzite Perhaps the goal is to prevent this business to fall into Chinese hands.
What's Amsterdam's policy on sovereign funds buying Dutch companies (like ASML)? There are reasons why Japanese chip fabs like Toshiba and Fujitsu would prefer an alternative supplier that isn't 15% owned by Intel, but Nikon Precision is domiciled in Belmont, California and Langen, Germany, so I'm not so sure about the role of national interests. Sales for Nikon Precision are growing, the main threat from ASML is from its patent portfolio. If there is semiconductor lithography technology with military advantages, I would think the American government would step in to restrict access to Chinese firms. And why couldn't the Chinese steal the technology they want ?(rendering the lawsuits between Nikon and ASML moot)
On the other hand, Japanese optics are still world class and that's the result of generations of expertise in manufacturing, which is much more difficult to steal.