HONG KONG—Two of the world's top players in Apple Inc.'s supply chain are locked in a fierce battle for control of a Taiwanese company that is developing a key technology used in the latest iPhones and smartwatches.

In a corporate skirmish that underscores how sought-after Apple Inc.'s business is, Taiwan-based Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc., the world's biggest chip assembler and a crucial player in Apple's supply chain, unveiled a plan in August to acquire a 25% stake in smaller Taiwanese rival Siliconware Precision Industries Co., known as SPIL, through a US$1 billion tender offer. ASE, which completed the stake purchase in September, ultimately hopes to take a controlling stake in SPIL to bolster its position amid industry consolidation and pull farther ahead of a fast-growing Chinese competitor, analysts say.

Those plans were frustrated in late August when SPIL announced a deal to collaborate with Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the world's biggest electronics contract manufacturer and the main assembler for Apple's iPhones. The deal included a share swap that would give Hon Hai, known by the trade name Foxconn, a bigger stake in SPIL and more voting clout than ASE has -- especially when combined with the stakes of SPIL's founders.

Foxconn says it is hoping to join forces with SPIL to expand into new areas that could help win more business from Apple, specifically, a technology that packs multiple components onto a tiny chip.

SPIL is holding a shareholder meeting Thursday at which it hopes to seal the deal. ASE has sent letters to shareholders, urging them to vote against the share swap. ASE can't vote on Thursday because its stake purchase wasn't registered in time.

At stake for ASE, Foxconn and SPIL are billions of dollars in potential revenue and new orders from Apple, analysts say.

Strong demand for Apple's large-screen iPhones last year was a windfall for key players in the tech giant's supply chain. ASE's net profit in the fourth quarter last year surged 51% to 7.86 billion New Taiwan dollars (US$242 million) dollars after it received orders to assemble chips used in the Apple Watch. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which makes computing chips known as processors, posted a 40% jump in net profit last year after it started supplying the chips for iPhones.

ASE, Foxconn and SPIL are hoping to boost their earnings by assembling chips and other components for Apple devices using component-packaging technology called system-in-package, or SiP.

The size of the SiP market could grow to $40 billion in revenue in 2018 from an estimated $25 billion this year, researcher Bernstein Research forecasts.

SiP already accounts for 20% of ASE's revenue, which totaled $8 billion last year, and the company expects that contribution to continue increasing, says Chief Operating Officer Tien Wu.

SPIL supplies SiP services in small volume, but hopes to roll out the technology on a mass scale in 2017. SPIL says working with Foxconn will allow the company to develop new markets and share resources to ensure long-term profit growth. SPIL has a good chance of winning SiP orders from Apple, given Foxconn's strong relationship with the U.S. tech giant and their combined skills, says Mark Li, an analyst at Bernstein Research.

Apple alone will account for around $3.1 billion in SiP orders this year, and that amount could more than double to $6.5 billion in 2017, according to estimates by Bernstein Research.

Apple declined to comment.

SPIL chairman Bough Lin declined to comment about potential Apple business, but said he is confident that the alliance will help land new orders.

An alliance with SPIL could also help Foxconn in its efforts to expand into new business areas such as semiconductors, beyond labor-intensive electronics assembly -- its bread and butter.

SPIL said in an open letter to its shareholders on Oct. 5 that the alliance with Foxconn is "aimed at creating new growth drivers."

ASE, in a separate letter to shareholders, questioned whether Hon Hai's deal is in the best interest of SPIL shareholders.

Hon Hai shareholders would be exchanging one Hon Hai share for 2.34 SPIL shares. Based on the closing share price on Aug. 28, it would value each SPIL share at NT$36, below the NT$45 a share in cash ASE had offered to shareholders in its tender offer.

In response, SPIL said the company plans to exchange shares on Dec. 1 and the price for the exchange will be different at that time.

ASE's Mr. Wu also warned that the collaboration between SPIL and Foxconn will be difficult because of their different cultures and areas of expertise.

"We are not against the alliance between SPIL and Hon Hai as long as you can justify the valuations and clearly articulate the benefits," he said.

The real winner could be Apple since SPIL and Foxconn say they plan to collaborate regardless of whether their share swap goes through. Analysts say a successful alliance could give Apple more supplier options and drive down component costs.

Write to Lorraine Luk at lorraine.luk@wsj.com

 

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 14, 2015 07:45 ET (11:45 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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