In a sudden turn of events, Verisilicon Microelectronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (688521), a leading A-share chip stock, announced the termination of its major asset restructuring plan on the evening of December 12. The company disclosed that it would halt the acquisition of a 97.0070% stake in Xinlai Zhirong Semiconductor Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (Xinlai Zhirong) and the related fundraising efforts. The decision was attributed to discrepancies between the core demands and key terms proposed by Xinlai Zhirong's management and counterparties, and the prevailing market conditions, policy requirements, as well as the interests of the company and its shareholders.
Notably, Verisilicon has been hailed as "China's first semiconductor IP stock." Its share price has surged remarkably this year, closing at 149.04 yuan on December 12, marking a year-to-date increase of over 184%, with its market capitalization reaching 78.37 billion yuan.
**Termination of Major Asset Restructuring** Verisilicon stated in its announcement that it received a notice from Xinlai Zhirong's management and counterparties regarding the termination of the share issuance and cash payment for the acquisition. After careful consideration, the company agreed to terminate the restructuring to safeguard the interests of all shareholders.
The company emphasized that it had diligently advanced the restructuring process, completing key tasks such as audits and valuations. However, the core demands from Xinlai Zhirong's side were misaligned with market and policy conditions, as well as shareholder interests.
Verisilicon assured that the termination would not adversely affect its normal operations or financial performance, nor harm shareholder interests, particularly those of minority shareholders. Moving forward, the company plans to strengthen its presence in the RISC-V sector, maintain and deepen collaboration with Xinlai Zhirong as a shareholder, and expand partnerships with other RISC-V IP suppliers to accelerate the ecosystem's growth in China.
Per regulatory requirements, Verisilicon pledged not to initiate another major restructuring for at least one month and will hold an investor briefing on December 18, 2025, to address the termination.
The transaction, initiated on August 28, 2025, with the signing of a *Letter of Intent for Equity Acquisition*, had previously led to a trading halt from August 29 to September 12.
**A Standout Performer in the A-Share Chip Sector** Verisilicon’s shares soared over 7% on December 12, capping a stellar year with a 184.26% gain. The company specializes in providing platform-based, comprehensive chip customization services and semiconductor IP licensing, leveraging its proprietary IP portfolio. Its offerings include chip design, mass production, and IP licensing services.
According to its website, Verisilicon boasts six key processor IP categories for heterogeneous computing: GPU, NPU, VPU, DSP, ISP, and Display Processing IP. IPnest data ranks it first in China and eighth globally for semiconductor IP licensing market share in 2024, with royalty revenue placing sixth worldwide.
Financially, Verisilicon reported Q1-Q3 2025 revenue of 2.255 billion yuan, up 36.64% YoY, while narrowing net losses to 347 million yuan. New orders in Q3 skyrocketed 145.80% to 1.593 billion yuan, with AI-related orders accounting for 65%. Cumulative orders for the first three quarters hit 3.249 billion yuan, surpassing the full-year 2024 total.
Xinlai Zhirong, the acquisition target, is a pioneer in RISC-V CPU IP in China, founded in 2018 with over 100 employees and dozens of IP products. Verisilicon highlighted that Xinlai Zhirong serves 300+ global clients across AI, automotive electronics, industrial control, 5G, IoT, cybersecurity, and storage sectors.
The aborted deal was expected to enhance Verisilicon’s heterogeneous computing capabilities with a full-stack processor IP portfolio and bolster its AI ASIC design flexibility and innovation, boosting market competitiveness.
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