President Donald Trump put an abrupt stop to a $3 million tech deal on Friday, blocking US-based photonics firm HieFo Corp from acquiring assets from New Jersey aerospace and defense company Emcore. The decision comes amid rising national security worries connected to China.
The White House announced the move through a formal order, highlighting Trump’s concerns that HieFo is “controlled by a citizen of the People’s Republic of China.” According to the order, the president believes HieFo’s recent purchase of Emcore’s businesses could potentially threaten the national security of the United States.
Specific details about the individual involved and Trump’s exact security concerns were not disclosed in the order.
Trump declared that “The Transaction is hereby prohibited,” and instructed HieFo to “divest all interests and rights in the Emcore Assets, wherever located,” within 180 days.
The Treasury Department later confirmed that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States had investigated the deal and found a threat to national security, though it did not elaborate on what that risk was.
Neither HieFo nor Emcore were available for immediate comment, and as of late Friday, neither company had shared any public response on their websites.
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Emcore, which was publicly traded when the deal happened before being taken private, said HieFo bought its chips business and indium-phosphide wafer-fabrication operations for $2.92 million.
According to HieFo, the company was co-founded by Genzao Zhang, a former vice president of engineering at Emcore, and Harry Moore, whose LinkedIn profile lists him as a former senior sales director at Emcore.
