FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German chipmaker Infineon Technologies (DE:IFXGn) said on Thursday it had signed an agreement to sell a manufacturing site in Wales, disposing of a non-core asset to a private buyer that will keep the plant operating.
Munich-based Infineon, a leading maker of chips used in the auto and power sectors, acquired the facility in Newport when it took over International Rectifier in 2014. It said then that the plant would be either sold or closed this year.
Terms were not disclosed, but Infineon said in a statement that the transaction would be completed this month. It has also entered into a two-year supply agreement with the buyer, Neptune 6. Upon closing, the buyer will run the site under the name Newport Wafer Fab Ltd.
The deal would save the Newport site and the jobs of the people employed there, Welsh Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure Ken Skates said in the statement.