Will Semiconductor

Will Semiconductor Co., Ltd. Shanghai
OmniVision Group
Native name
上海韦尔半导体股份有限公司
Company typePublic
IndustrySemiconductors
FoundedMay 15, 2014; 10 years ago (2014-05-15)
FounderYu Renrong
HeadquartersShanghai, China
Key people
Yu Renrong (Chairman)
Wang Song (CEO)
RevenueIncrease CN¥21.02 billion (2023)
Decrease CN¥543.82 million (2023)
Total assetsIncrease CN¥37.74 billion (2023)
Total equityIncrease CN¥21.50 billion (2023)
Number of employees
4,800 (2023)
SubsidiariesOmniVision Technologies
Websitewww.omnivision-group.com
Footnotes / references
[1]

Will Semiconductor (WillSemi; Chinese: 韦尔半导体; pinyin: Wéiěr Bàndǎotǐ) is a publicly listed Chinese fabless semiconductor company headquartered in Shanghai.

Its primary focus is on research and development for semiconductor design and sale of semiconductor devices. Its products are applied in field of mobile communications, vehicle electronics, Internet of things devices, and security products.

Together with its subsidiaries including OmniVision Technologies (OmniVision), the company does business as OmniVision Group.

Background

WillSemi was founded on 15 May 2007 by Yu Renrong.[2][3][4]

On 4 May 2017, WillSemi held its initial public offering becoming a listed company on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.[2]

Due to the lack of core technological competitiveness, WillSemi could only engage in the distribution business with low technological content. To improve its competitiveness, it has acquired various other semiconductor firms in the past decade.[2][4][5]

On 5 June 2017 it planned to acquire OmniVision but its main shareholder Zhuhai Rongfeng objected to the plan as it saw Wingtech was also interested in acquiring OmniVision leading to the first M&A attempt failing. After some changes in OmniVision shareholders, WillSemi made another attempt to acquire OmniVision in May 2018 with the deal being successfully completed in May 2019. The acquisition meant WillSemi could now enter the CMOS Image sensor technology market as well as have leverage OmniVision's technical expertise to improve its semiconductor design capabilities.[2][3][4][5]

In November 2023, WillSemi held a global depository receipt (GDR) offering on the SIX Swiss Exchange. Raising US$445 million, it was China's largest GDR offering since 2005.[6][7]

See also

References

  1. ^ "2023 Annual Report" (PDF). Sina.
  2. ^ a b c d Wu, Zongyu (2 November 2023). "Analysis of Will's Acquisition of Omnivision". Highlights in Business, Economics and Management. 19: 416–423. doi:10.54097/hbem.v19i.11977. ISSN 2957-952X. Archived from the original on 24 February 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b Hope, Arran (3 February 2023). "China's top 10 semiconductor firms". The China Project. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Clarke, Peter (24 May 2019). "OmniVision bought quietly by China's Will Semiconductor". eeNews Europe. Archived from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Willsemi Will Build A Bright Future In The Chip Market". seekingalpha.com. 5 December 2021. Archived from the original on 24 February 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  6. ^ "Will Semiconductor GDR issue is China's biggest in 18 years". Law.asia. 14 November 2023. Archived from the original on 24 February 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  7. ^ "中国科技企业刷新年内最大境外 IPO！韦尔股份GDR发行募资 4.45 亿美元". www.21jingji.com. 8 November 2023. Archived from the original on 24 February 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.