Private equity firm KKR has announced plans to reduce its stake in Japanese chip equipment manufacturer, Kokusai Electric.
The company, which holds around 43 percent of Kokusai’s shares, is planning to sell approximately half its holdings, worth roughly $1.6bn, according to a report from Reuters.
Kokusai Electric, which is best known for its production of batch and single wafer processing systems, was spun out of Hitachi in 2018 and floated on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in October 2023.
KKR had previously attempted to sell Kokusai to US-based semiconductor equipment and services company Applied Materials, but the deal fell apart after the Chinese government refused to grant regulatory approval.
Despite the failed acquisition, Applied Materials still holds a 15 percent stake in Kokusai.
In addition to its semiconductor holdings, KKR also has investments in a number of telecoms and data center projects.
The investment firm owns CyrusOne alongside BlackRock-owned GIP, and backs European operator GTR. It acquired a 20 percent stake in Singtel’s data center business for $800 million last year and purchased liquid cooling company CoolIT alongside Mubadala for an undisclosed amount.
