Wingtech appeals Dutch ruling as fight for Nexperia control escalates

Wingtech Technology Co. has filed an appeal at the Dutch Supreme Court to regain control of Nexperia, reopening a legal fight that never really cooled off, even after a short political truce allowed some chip parts to move again.

The appeal targets a ruling by the Amsterdam Enterprise Chamber that took Wingtech’s shares in Nexperia and placed all but one under the control of a court-picked trustee. The same ruling also removed Zhang Xuezheng, Wingtech’s founder, from his role as chief executive at the Dutch chipmaker.

Wingtech also links the court process to the Dutch government’s attempt to take special control powers over Nexperia, a move that was frozen last week but never fully canceled. The company says these steps worked together to push it out.

Wingtech challenges court process and share transfer

Wingtech’s appeal focuses on the forced transfer of its shares and the removal of Zhang Xuezheng as CEO.

The company says the court relied only on statements from Nexperia’s managers and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and blocked Wingtech from responding.

In its filing, Wingtech calls this an “extraordinary and historic” breach of due process.

The company says it never had a fair chance to defend itself before the ruling landed.

The Dutch economic affairs ministry rejected that claim. A ministry spokesperson told Bloomberg by email, “The ministry or the minister did not initiate or influence the proceedings before the Enterprise Chamber in any way.”

The same statement added, “The judiciary in the Netherlands is fully independent.” Wingtech still argues that the government’s earlier move to secure extra powers over Nexperia played a direct role in shaping what happened in court.

The legal fight stayed loud even after signs of a political thaw. On Thursday, Nexperia, which is based in Nijmegen, sent an open letter to managers at its Chinese unit. The company said internal talks had broken down. It warned that customer deliveries were still disrupted because of weak cooperation with the Chinese side.

Wingtech answered back and said the letter carried false claims and ignored what it sees as the real cause of the crisis, the Dutch state stepping in.

State action triggers export curbs and auto supply shock

The dispute went public in October after the Dutch state activated powers to block or reverse decisions at Nexperia. Officials said they feared Wingtech was moving high-end equipment and sensitive technology out of Europe.

Beijing answered days later with export limits on parts made at Nexperia’s Guangdong plant, a site that once produced about half of the company’s total output.

The fallout raced into the global auto sector. Nexperia supplies power-control and logic chips used in engine systems, battery units, and braking controls. The supply hit forced carmakers like Honda Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG to slow or pause lines as parts ran short.

Weeks of talks followed. Officials from China, the Netherlands, Germany, the European Union, and the United States joined negotiations. A temporary truce later took shape. Beijing agreed to loosen export controls. With that change, the worst of the supply squeeze eased. The deeper fight over ownership and control did not.

Wingtech’s Supreme Court filing also takes aim at Economic Affairs Minister Vincent Karremans. The appeal points to a letter sent on Oct. 1 by ministry lawyers to the Enterprise Chamber. That letter backed an 81-page request from Nexperia’s management almost as soon as it was filed.

Wingtech says the speed of this sequence makes it look like a coordinated push. The company also suggests the ministry saw documents early, a claim that clashes with Karremans’s public remarks.

Wingtech is now asking the government to pull its support for the suspension of Zhang Xuezheng as CEO. The ministry answered that request with its own explanation. It said it backed the Oct. 1 petition from Nexperia board members because urgent court action was needed to protect the company’s stability due to Zhang’s actions.

The ministry added, “It was logical for the state to express its support, because the behavior of the CEO — supported by the shareholder — endangered the company, as the Enterprise Chamber itself confirmed in its ruling.”

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