Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON, Jan 2 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Friday blocked U.S. photonics company HieFo Corp’s $3 million acquisition of assets from New Jersey aerospace and defense specialist Emcore, citing national security and China-related concerns.
In an order issued by the White House, Trump said HieFo is “controlled by citizens of the People’s Republic of China” and that its 2024 acquisition of Emcore’s business led the president to believe the company could “take actions that threaten to harm the national security of the United States.”
The order did not name specific individuals or detail Trump’s concerns.
Trump said the transaction “is hereby prohibited” and ordered HieFo to “divest all interest and rights in Emcore’s assets, wherever located” within 180 days.
The Treasury Department said after Trump issued the order that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States found national security risks in its investigation of the deal. The statement did not specify the national security risks.
HieFo and Emcore could not immediately be reached for comment and had not posted any responses on their websites as of Friday evening.
Emcore, which was publicly traded at the time and later took private, said HieFo acquired its chip business and indium phosphide wafer manufacturing business for $2.92 million.
HieFo said at the time that the company was co-founded by former Emcore vice president of engineering Genzao Zhang and Harry Moore, whose LinkedIn profile lists him as Emcore’s former senior director of sales.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by William Mallard)
