By Jason Chau
Shares of Rohm tumbled Monday after Toyota Motor-affiliated auto-parts supplier Denso said it is considering shelving its proposed acquisition of the Japanese chipmaker.
Rohm's stock fell as much as 16% in early Tokyo trading before paring some losses. Shares were last 7.2% lower at 3,495 yen.
Meanwhile, shares of Denso rose as much as 4.0% in the morning session, and were last up 2.6% at Y1,917.50.
In separate statements, the two companies confirmed earlier media reports that Denso hadn't secured Rohm's support to acquire the latter's shares and is now weighing its options, including abandoning the takeover bid.
Rohm said that at present, it has not expressed support for the proposal.
When Denso made the approach for Kyoto-based Rohm last month, shares of the latter soared.
Rohm set up an independent committee to review the bid but raised some issues in a statement in March, saying a takeover wasn't in line with the management strategies it had been pursuing. The company also said that several of its business partners had expressed concerns over business continuity and future operations.
Denso could be failing to win over Rohm executives who may be worried about the former's focus on automotive at a time when interest in power-semiconductors used for artificial-intelligence applications in on the rise, said Andrew Jackson, head of Japan equity strategy at Ortus Advisors, citing reporting by media outlet Nikkei.
Rohm and Denso have a longstanding collaboration in automotive semiconductors, establishing a partnership in May 2025 to develop chips for electric vehicles and strengthen their capital ties.
Separately, Rohm is also in talks with Toshiba and Mitsubishi Electric to potentially integrate their power semiconductor businesses.
Write to Jason Chau at jason.chau@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-27-26 0014ET
