Key facts
- Interim CEO Stefan Tilger said Nexperia could still reunite with its Chinese operations if Europe's economy and industry face no risk.
- Tilger said Wingtech, as economic owner of the shares, should be compensated fairly if a sale process happens.
- Wingtech said it rejected a court appointees' proposal giving it control of Chinese operations and outside investors the international business.
- Tilger said Nexperia expanded packaging in Malaysia but output remains insufficient to meet market demand.
- Excluding Chinese units, Nexperia reported third-quarter revenue of $389 million, up 9.3% from the previous quarter.
Nexperia BV could still reunite with its Chinese operations, interim chief executive Stefan Tilger told Reuters in an interview on November 10, 2026, more than a year after the split. The two sides now run separate businesses. Tilger said that if the separation becomes permanent, Chinese parent Wingtech Technology should be compensated.
"They are the economic owner of the shares of the company, and they can't exercise control right now. But it doesn't mean, of course, that they shouldn't be compensated fairly if a sale process should happen," Tilger said, speaking on the sidelines of the electronica 2026 conference in Munich. He said negotiating a long-term solution was up to Wingtech's board and two Dutch court-appointed officials.
Nexperia makes simple chips widely used in cars and consumer electronics. The corporate rupture was triggered by Dutch state intervention in 2025 aimed at preventing the company from moving operations to China. A Dutch court separately suspended then-CEO Zhang Xuezheng, citing suspected mismanagement, and stripped Wingtech of control. The standoff between the Netherlands and China over Nexperia sparked a near-crisis for global carmakers that threatened production and laid bare supply chain risks in the industry. The Netherlands later suspended its intervention, but the company split along national lines and the two companies remain embroiled in lawsuits.
In the week before the interview, Wingtech said it had rejected a proposal by the court appointees under which it would control Nexperia's Chinese operations while outside investors would take a controlling stake in the international business. Tilger said he believed Dutch and European authorities would accept reunification, provided Europe's economy and industry faced no risk. "I don't think there's anything against also holding an equity stake in the Chinese operations," he said.
Nexperia has expanded operations in Malaysia to replace Chinese packaging capacity, but Tilger said production was "still insufficient to meet the demand levels in the market." He said the company was also benefiting from customers seeking to secure products with a supply chain that is not exposed to China. Excluding the Chinese units it no longer controls, Nexperia reported third-quarter revenue of $389 million, up 9.3% from the previous quarter, with $55 million in operating cash flow.