Belgian semiconductor maker BelGaN is planning to accept a takeover bid by the end of this week, after the company filed for bankruptcy in July leaving the fates of 440 employees in the air.
Headquartered in Oudenaarde in Flanders, BelGaN - originally Mietec - was founded in 1984 and specialises in producing semiconductor chips for the automotive and other industries.
First founded by the Flemish Government and subsequently passed to private ownership, in 2022 the company was taken over by the BelGaN Group, a consortium of Hong Kong-based holding companies.
The tech company recently pivoted from producing silicon chips and invested in new gallium nitride (GaN) chips which can be used in electric chargers, electric cars and data centres, as well as other technologies from high-quality audio to space travel.
However the investment did not pay off, and the company filed for bankruptcy last month citing cash flow issues as the new GaN technology could not be marketed fast enough to meet costs.
The news left some 440 people working at the company at risk of losing their jobs, as production at the factory has been halted amid the search for a buyer to take over the business.
As reported by Belga, BelGaN's administrators confirmed on Wednesday that they plan to accept a purchase offer for the Oudenaarde-based business by the week's end.
They say that numerous prospective buyers have shown interest, but they gave no details on the nature of these companies or the future of the 440 employees involved. The administrators have previously made clear their preference for a buyout over a sell off of the company's assets.
One bidder who has thrown their name into the ring is Belgian entrepreneur Guido Dumarey. As reported by De Standaard, Dumarey has called for the bankrupt chip factory to return to Flemish hands, as it is the only production line for high-tech chips in the Flanders region.
While many investors have demonstrated an interest in continuing BelGaN's operations, administrators have not clarified whether these candidates are international or European.
