Oliver Haslam·

AirPods Assembler Luxshare Is Reportedly Buying An iPhone Assembly Plant In China

The name Luxshare Precision might be a familiar one to you because it’s the company currently working with Apple on the production of AirPods. But according to a new report, it’s branching out – the company is planning on picking up a new iPhone manufacturing plant.

The plant is currently owned by Wistron and sits in the Chinese city of Kushan. According to Nikkei Asian Review, Luxshare has agreed on a deal to take it over. For its part, Wistron has been helping to build iPhones for around five years.

The Wistron plant wasn’t the first one that Luxshare considered buying, either. A deal with Catcher Technology fell through over a difference in opinion over price.

Luxshare, already a key supplier of Apple’s AirPods, has agreed to buy two Chinese subsidiaries of Wistron for 3.3 billion yuan ($471.5 million). Acquiring these subsidiaries will give Luxshare control of Wistron’s key iPhone assembly plant in the Chinese city of Kushan, the Nikkei Asian Review has learned. The move comes after Luxshare’s planned acquisition of Catcher Technology, a supplier of iPhone metal frames, fell apart in early June, multiple sources told Nikkei.

Apple has reportedly also asked Wistron to hand the plant over in a way that also includes some form of knowledge transfer. The iPhone seller will hope that Luxshare can hit the ground running and part of that will involve Wistron giving it a helping hand.

Apple, as always, will be a key player for both companies as they progress. Luxshare is an up and coming company right now having been founded by a former Foxconn worker in 2004.

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