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Japan, U.S. chip equipment makers abort merger: MOC

Xinhua, April 29, 2015 Adjust font size:

Two leading global semiconductor equipment makers, Japan's Tokyo Electron and Applied Materials from the United States, have called off their merger plans, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said on Wednesday.

The companies have filed official letters with the MOC about the termination of the merger after it was opposed by the Department of Justice of the U.S., which was responsible for approving the plan along with the MOC and the Korea Fair Trade Commission.

Earlier media reports said the merger failed to meet anti-trust regulations of the countries involved.

The merger of the companies, which both have a large market share, would substantially reshape the sector and exert major influence on the competition, disturbing the interests of consumers in China, the world's largest chip market, the MOC said.

The companies filed their first application to the MOC for anti-trust review in 2013.

The MOC said it has remained in close contact with legal and fair trade departments in the United States and the Republic of Korea during the review, which lasted more than a year. Endi