President Trump has killed the proposed takeover of Portland, OR-based Lattice Semiconductor by Canyon Bridge Capital Partners, which is backed by the government of China, ruling that the $1.3B takeover posed a threat to national security.

Lattice, which used Brunswick Group in the transaction, defended the deal as "in the best interests of our shareholders, our customers, our employees and the US."

Lattice Semiconductor

CEO Darin Billerbeck argued that the mitigation proposal presented to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US to facilitate the takeover by Capital Bridge was the most comprehensive "proposal ever proposed for a foreign transaction in the semiconductor industry and would have maximized US national security protection while still enabling Lattice to accept Canyon Bridge’s investment and double American jobs."

He assured investors that Lattice's future remains bright despite the collapsed deal.

In its statement, CFIUS noted that it and the President decided the transaction poses a risk to the national security of the US that cannot be resolved through mitigation.

They expressed concern with the "potential transfer of intellectual property to the foreign acquirer, Chinese government's role in supporting the transaction, the importance of semiconductor supply chain in the US and the use of Lattice products by the US government."

Brunswick's Alex Finnegan and Jennifer Sukawaty represent Lattice.