President Donald Trump on Friday blocked U.S. photonics company HieFo Corp.’s $3 million acquisition of New Jersey-based aerospace and defense specialist Emcore’s assets, citing national security and China-related concerns.
In an order released by the White House, President Trump said HieFo was “controlled by nationals of the People’s Republic of China” and that the acquisition of the Emcor business in 2024 led the president to believe it could “take actions that threaten to undermine the national security of the United States.”
The order does not name any individuals or elaborate on Trump’s concerns.
“Transaction is hereby prohibited,” President Trump said, ordering HieFo to “relinquish within 180 days all interest and rights in Emcore assets, wherever they may be located.”
Following President Trump’s order, the Treasury Department announced that its Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States had identified national security risks in its review of the deal. The statement did not specify any national security risks.
HieFo and Emcore had no immediate comment, and no responses were posted on their websites as of late Friday.
Emcor, which was publicly traded at the time of the transaction and has since become private, announced that HieFo has acquired its chip business and indium phosphide wafer manufacturing business for $2.92 million.
HieFo said at the time that it was co-founded by Genzao Zhang, a former vice president of engineering at Emcore, and Harry Moore, a former senior sales director at Emcore on his LinkedIn profile.
