Denso Pres. Expects Big Synergy from Rohm Buyout

Tokyo, April 1 (Jiji Press)–Major auto parts supplier Denso Corp.’s proposed acquisition of chip giant Rohm Co. will produce substantial synergy effects, Denso President Shinnosuke Hayashi believes. “Synergy effects would be great thanks to (the two Japanese companies’) technical affinity,” Hayashi told a press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday. Highlighting the semiconductor business as a growth field, Hayashi expressed his eagerness to leverage Denso’s mobility-related technologies and knowledge in the new field. The same day, the company released its business plan through fiscal 2030 setting the floor targets of 8-trillion-yen sales and a 10 pct operating profit margin. To achieve those goals, the medium-term plan calls for applying in-vehicle chip technology to industrial and consumer equipment and enhancing productivity by integrating artificial intelligence and manufacturing. “We have extra 2 trillion to 4 trillion yen to spend” on strategic investments and own share buybacks, Executive Vice President Yasushi Matsui said at the news conference. But at a time when semiconductors are playing crucial roles in the auto industry, which is striving to electrify vehicles and capitalize on AI, Toshiba Corp. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. are approaching Rohm about three-way power device business integration, casting uncertainty over Denso’s bid for the chipmaker. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]