Chinese Chip Software Maker Behind Mystery Buyer Blocked by UK

(Bloomberg) — A two-year-old Shanghai-based developer of chip design software was behind an attempt to buy a British firm that regulators blocked with little explanation, the latest example of Britain’s rising hostility toward Chinese investment.

Super Orange HK Holding Ltd. was blocked from buying Bristol-based chip design software provider Pulsic Ltd., the British Business Secretary announced in a brief statement Wednesday. But Super Orange is in reality controlled by little-known Shanghai UniVista Industrial Software Group, according to Hong Kong public filings and Chinese corporate data. The Shanghai firm is backed by the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund — the powerful $50 billion state-backed vehicle known within the industry as the “Big Fund.”